Sonder
by musiciate
Summary: Annie Emery wasn't what she appeared to be and she liked it that way. After an unexpected move to live with her uncle, Annie becomes more involved in the weird shit that's been happening in Beacon Hills, all because two idiot teens couldn't keep to themselves for one second. If she thought her life was hard before, she didn't even want to imagine what it'd be like now.
1. Nova Vita

"That should be the last of them right, Annie?"

The girl looked up, blowing upwards with clear irritation to sweep the stray curl that had fallen into her eyes. She looked around the bare room that was now hers, before turning to her uncle and nodding as she gave him a terse smile. "Yeah, I think that's it. I didn't bring along much, just the essentials."

Alan Deaton took a long look at the young girl, his eyes giving her the uncomfortable feeling of being x-rayed. But knowing her freakishly observant uncle, that was probably exactly what he was doing. "Are you okay?" he asked gently, finally breaking the silence.

Annie gave a nondescript shrug as she looked around once more, staring at the boxes scattered on her floor, unwilling to really get back into the whole emotional side of things. She had spent the better part of the past two and a half weeks in tears, and quite frankly she was just so tired of it. "I mean, the funerals were barely a week ago… _and_ I had to haul my ass three thousand miles away from home to come here. So, yeah, I guess things are absolutely peachy." She said nonchalantly, crossing her arms casually. The hostility underlying her words clearly indicated to the vet that she had no desire to talk.

He simply sighed and nodded. "You know you can come and talk to me whenever you need to, right?"

Annie rolled her eyes and flopped down on the bare bed. "Yeah, I know, Alan. You're here to support and guide me, and help me with all that gross teenage emotional crap." She waved her hand around vaguely before tilting her head and placing a sweet, but very obviously forced, smile on her face. "I'll be sure to clear my schedule one night so we can eat ice cream, watch The Notebook, and have a good cry together."

This time, it was Deaton's turn to roll his eyes at the girl. "I need to head to work. You can come down later on if you've finished up. Maybe the risk of getting bitten will help you tone down your own bite."

Annie rose a hand lazily, waving to him goodbye, listening to his fading footsteps as he descended the stairs and grabbed his keys. She closed her eyes and listened intently, hearing the door close behind him and the faintness of his car engine rumbling to life.

She laid there for several moments before she let out a shuddering breath, only just noticing then how she had been holding it. Sitting back up, she looked around the room with a frown. She had a lot of work to do if she wanted to make what used to be a storage room her new home.

The sound of loud drums and even louder guitar riffs filled the air as she dug through the last of her boxes. Several hours later, and she had gotten through much more than she had originally thought she would. Annie's bed was now fully furnished with too many pillows than one person really needed and her favourite hand-knit blanket folded neatly off the end of the bed. Her collection of books were all stacked dangerously on the edge of her desk. The room was beginning to come together. It had taken everything she had not to simply make it look like a replica of her old room, but she wanted this move to be a fresh start. She couldn't resist bringing along mementos of her old life, though.

Annie walked over to one of the boxes, opening it and smiling at the familiar jars that greeted her.

"Vervain… check. Wormwood… check. Goddamnit, where's…" She muttered, kneeling on the ground and tucking a curl behind her ear as she delved deeper into the box. With a sigh of relief, she lifted out the last jar she had been searching for. "…oh here it is."

She pulled out jar after jar, placing them carefully on her bed before she could really think about where she wanted to put her myriad of herbs and salves. Experimenting with new creations and ideas had been her favorite thing to do, but she hadn't been able to bring herself to touch any of her products since leaving the hospital. It was typically something she did with her mother and considering her mother was dead, it didn't quite seem appropriate for her to continue with their favourite shared activity.

With a heavy sigh, she stood up straight and reached for the jars on her bed. With several balanced in her hands, she walked over to her dresser, looking into the large mirror hanging right above it. Annie couldn't help but stare, her gaze immediately traveling to the still-fresh scar. It was still puckered and angry looking. Some areas more healed than the rest as it slowly, but surely, scabbed over. The corner of her left eye, where it began, was pulled down slightly, as was the left corner of her lips.

She was lucky, she knew she was, to have escaped an attack like that with only a slight disfigurement like that. Albeit, it was a particularly painful one accompanied by several others on her shoulder and her arm, which she had thrown up in reaction to being caught in the face by _claws_.

At least she didn't have to walk around with the large, imposing bandage on half her face anymore. The actual sight of the damage would take getting used to, though. Once again, she sighed heavily before placing the jars down and forced herself away from the mirror.

She had nearly a full month until she would have to start school again, she'd have to get over her insecurities about her scars. She nearly couldn't hole in her snort.

 _Easier said than done_.

* * *

She _needed_ to get out of the house. Annie, by nature, just wasn't the type of person who could just sit around and do nothing. Having set up her room completely within two days, she had run out of things to busy herself with, and it was dangerous to leave her to just sit and think, it would undoubtedly lead her to begin brooding.

But _then_ came the obvious obstacle of the little fact that she had absolutely _no_ idea what to do or _where_ to go in town. Alan had, thankfully, been giving her space while she settled in, but that meant she had no knowledge of what to do other than to stop by his animal clinic like he had suggested on the first day of her arrival to town. Maybe looking at some dogs would clean up her shit-filled life.

Maybe she should just _get_ a dog.

' _Take a right in point two miles."_

Annie's lips pulled into a slight frown as the clipped sound of the GPS rudely interrupted her thoughts about dogs. She tapped her fingers against the wheel, leaning forwards slightly as she made the turn and began pulling into the unfamiliar clinic. Turning the engine off, she stared at the driving wheel for several moments before inhaling and grabbing the messenger bag that had been carelessly thrown onto the passenger seat. Grabbing her keys and tossing them into her bag, she manually locked the car before making her way into the clinic, the light chiming of little bells being the only indication of her entrance.

"Hi, can I help you?"

As she looked around, curiosity alight in her eyes, a young guy, probably around her age, poked his head out from behind the corner with a polite smile at his lips. She nodded slowly before reaching up and clutching at the strap of her bag.

"Uh- yeah… Is Alan back there?" She held back the urge to wince at her own voice. It usually _was_ rather low and hoarse, but when she had opened her mouth, it sounded as though she hadn't spoken in _ages_. Granted, that was pretty much the case considering she _hadn't_ spoken to anyone other than her uncle, and it wasn't for anything apart for the bare necessities.

The guy furrowed his brows at her, surprise lighting up his soft brown eyes, probably at the fact that she had called the vet by his first name. She silently cursed herself for being so obvious, she should've just asked for _Doctor Deaton_ , as unnatural as that sounded to her. So much for not drawing attention to herself.

"Oh, uh- Are you… Annie?" He asked with a bit of uncertainty, as though he were remembering her name. She shifted uncomfortably, looking slightly down and away from him, showing more of the right side of her face rather than the scarred left side. She doubted he was blatantly staring at her. People, unless they were small children, didn't typically do that, but it just _felt_ like people stared at her. No matter how much she told herself that no one was looking, it did _nothing_ to assuage the sensation.

"Annie! Glad you could finally make it down." Alan's light, smooth tone saved her from the tension she had single-handedly created. "Scott, this is the niece that I've told you about." he introduced, gesturing freely in her direction.

He perked up slightly as he turned to look back at her, a smile still on his lips, but somehow more _genuine_ , as he stretched out his hand to her. "It's nice to finally meet you."

She cleared her throat, giving him an awkward half-smile, careful not to stretch the aching wound in her attempt to appear like a functioning human being. "Yeah, you too… Alan speaks very highly of you." She met his hand with her own and gave it a firm shake. She watched as his smile turned bashful, a sign he was humble. Well, that was good, she wouldn't have to deal with any insufferable arrogance that wasn't her own.

Letting go of his hand, she stuffed her hands into her jean pockets, clearing her throat before turning slightly to look at Alan curiously. "Uh- I finished unpacking a while ago and figured I should come down and see if I could be productive at all."

Her uncle only gave her a knowing smile, guessing she had finally gotten fed up with simply lying in bed and staring at the ceiling. Which, he really couldn't complain about. He nodded sharply towards the examination room before turning and walking in that direction, prompting her to follow. She offered Scott one last half smile before following her uncle in.

* * *

Lydia Martin was _beyond_ bored. Any long break served as a good time to establish herself in the delicate social hierarchy of Beacon Hills, but, of course, there wasn't really anything to do when she was already on top. That was always the problem, she was never really _challenged_. There was never anything _new_ in town.

Granted, a part of her _loved_ the stability and the certainty, but the other parts of her just wanted something _new_ to occupy her time.

Just as she was slowing down her car to turn into her driveway, a movement out of her periphery caught her attention. Slowing down completely, she turned to her right, spotting a high, messy bun poking out from above a bush, escaping black curls danced freely in the light breeze. She frowned, pausing for a moment to think about _who_ lived there. If she were remembering correctly, it was the town's local vet, a quiet, but useful man. She didn't remember a girl living there. Pulling over to the curb, she parked and threw her door open before making her way over to her neighbour's. Not a moment later, the owner of the bun stood up to her full height, which wasn't much, Lydia observed. The girl was unfamiliar, but as she drew closer, she could tell by the girl's features that she was definitely somehow related to Dr. Deaton.

"Hey! Hi, there!" She called out, her tone becoming the signature light and bubbly one that belonged to _Queen Bee Lydia_ , the one she used regardless of if she was tearing someone down or complementing them. The girl turned around and she couldn't help but notice just how… _terrible_ the girl looked.

Was that horrible to say? Surely, it wasn't?

The girl _had_ to be aware of how bad she looked. She had a tiredly stoic expression on her face, dark circles featured prominently under her eyes, as though she hadn't slept in days. There was dirt on her knees, and a stray streak on her right cheek where she must have smudged some on accidentally. But what drew her attention almost immediately was the angry looking scar on her _left_ cheek. It made her pause, but Lydia was nothing if not smooth. She quickly pushed aside her moment of shock and stepped closer to the girl who was raising an eyebrow at her.

"Sorry to bother you, I just noticed you out here… You're new, aren't you?" she asked, flipping her strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder, her tone never faltering from the sweet, light one she used when she had first greeted the girl.

The girl simply looked at Lydia, her eyes shifting slightly as she took in the redhead's features before nodding slowly, as though she were suspicious. The girl's silence was disconcerting, to say the least, but perhaps… Maybe she was the _challenge_ Lydia was looking for? Lydia straightened her back, pushing her shoulders back as she gazed down at the curly haired girl. She seemed to almost be hiding behind the large bush she had just been pruning as if the thing were a shield between her and Lydia.

Simply smiling that bright, saccharine smile, Lydia clapped her hands together. " _Well_ , let me be the first to welcome you to the neighbourhood." The girl continued to stare warily at Lydia, narrowing her eyes and scanning her from head to toe, making the latter purse her lips and raise a perfectly sculpted brow at her. A small smirk played at Lydia's glossy lips. "You know, I _love_ the whole _'Don't touch me, I can kick your ass blindfolded'_ aesthetic you've got going on…" she unclasped her hands, her right one going to point vaguely at the girl's whole person.

This time, it was Annie's turn to raise an eyebrow at the other girl. She remained silent, still not knowing what exactly this girl wanted from her. The questioning expression she had on her face must have been plainly and obviously written across her features as she crossed her arms, shifting her weight and slightly jutting out her hip in a show of attitude.

Lydia sighed tediously, "Oh _come on_. The tats, the boots, the _attitude_? You _definitely_ know you've got it going on. The scar really ties things together…" She added slyly, watching the girl's reaction carefully.

Annie's hand flew up to the side of her face, her fingers ghosting over the mentioned feature, an embarrassed blush dusting across her cheeks. Lydia felt a sense of victory course through her at the immediate response she had gotten from the other girl. So it really must have been a new injury if the girl was that self-conscious about it. She remained silent though, choosing not to comment on it, something Annie very much noticed.

The brunette looked down at herself, surprised that the other girl had been so quick to pick out little details about her, like the tattoos on her wrist and the inside of her middle finger. And she _supposed_ that with the addition of her flannel, worn out jean shorts, and even more worn out boots, she kind of _did_ give off a rather "grunge-like" vibe.

"Although, I gotta be honest. You kind of make it _adorable_."

Annie's face dropped into an expression that plainly said ' _oh come on_ '. Then again standing at barely 5'2" and having a baby face like hers probably made it hard to pull off that "whole thing" the redhead had been talking about.

Annie clenched her jaw as she crossed her arms once more, brown eyes trailing from the girl's impossibly high heels, short floral skirt, and to the light pink blouse she donned, all mostly covered by an expensive looking pea coat. "You're not always this… _peppy_ , are you? 'Cause that must get exhausting." She finally spoke, her dry low voice giving Lydia pause.

She gave the shorter girl a hint of a smirk as she mirrored her actions and crossed her own arms. "One does what one _has_ to do to stay on top around here. Gotta stay _charismatic_."

"What one calls charismatic, another calls _annoying_ and _fake_."

A slow smile stretched out across her painted lips as she looked at the curly haired girl with curious eyes. "Lydia Martin, I'm a sophomore at Beacon Hills High." She confidently introduced, sticking a perfectly manicured hand out, reaching over the bush that separated them.

Annie hesitantly stuck her own hand out, feeling terribly forced into second place as she eyed her chipping nail polish and the dirt that had snuck underneath her nails. "Annie Emery. Also a sophomore there. Or at least, I _will_ be." She introduced, making no effort to hide the slight suspicion that colored her tone.

Lydia gave her a bright grin and a wink. "Well, neighbour, you just stick with me and you'll be alright." She declared, letting go of her hand.

Annie could only blink. "Uh… thanks?" she said, the inflection at the end making it sound like a question, showcasing just how honestly surprised she felt. Lydia didn't seem like the type of girl to really go around _offering_ her acquaintanceship to anyone who rolled up to her. Then again, she _hadn't_ rolled up to the girl, it had been more the other way around.

Lydia lifted a finger to tap at the corner of her lips. "Your hands are _so_ soft, by the way. What moisturizer do you use?" she asked curiously, that smile _still_ fixed onto her lips, making Annie vaguely wonder if she got tired at _all_ , or if her face was just stuck that way.

Annie looked down at her hands, a slight frown of confusion making its way to her own lips before looking up with furrowed brows. "Oh, uh… It's um... I actually make some stuff on my own. I like to stay organic, you know?"

Lydia looked at her increased interest, a sculpted brow rising. "You _make_ your own cosmetic supplies?" she asked, impressed.

The other girl was quick to shake her head as she stuffed her hands into her jean pockets. "Well, uh… not _cosmetics_ but topical creams… uh… herbal and home remedies… aromatherapy supplies… things like that." She said shyly, her hand flying up out of her pocket to rub her neck, a nervous action she seemed to have inherited from her father. "My dad was a botanist and my mom was big on making her own things so like… I kind of just picked up on their interests." she shrugged.

 _Was_.

The word stuck out like a big neon sign.

Lydia gave the girl one more appraising glance before tilting her head. "Why don't you come over tomorrow? We can make a whole day out of it! I'll show you around town and get you a little more comfortably settled in."

Raising an eyebrow at the offer, Annie only shifted once more and crossed her arms. "How do you know I'm not _already_ familiar with the town?"

Lydia simply challenged her with a raised eyebrow of her own. "Well, _are_ you?"

The girl visibly deflated under Lydia's sharp green gaze, sighing as the redhead made a hummed sound of victory, a smile stretching over her lips. "It's settled! Come over around ten tomorrow, I'm two houses down with the long driveway, you really can't miss it." She didn't bother saying goodbye, simply turning sharply, her soft curls bouncing with the movement as she returned back to her car, leaving a bewildered Annie in her stead.

* * *

Was she desperate for doing this? What if this was like… one of those shitty pranks popular kids to get views on YouTube? Like, what if when the door opened she'd find herself with a face full of… _whatever_ thrown at her and the entire clique laughing behind a smartphone?

 _Shit, Annie, stop being so paranoid._

She sighed deeply as she waited anxiously in front of Lydia's grand front door, toeing the corner of the welcome mat with the tip of her heeled boots. Turning, she looked at the long driveway and then back down to her feet. She could probably book it in time. The last time she had done a good sprint had been her last meet and that was nearly a month and a half ago, but she was sure she could break a personal record with anxiety fueling her.

Stuffing her hands into her jacket pockets, she bit her lip before turning around and beginning to climb down the two little steps. The sound of a door opening wide made her freeze immediately though, a familiar saccharine voice floating over to her. "Oh! I'm so glad you actually came. I was afraid I going to have to hunt you down and drag you out myself." Slowly turning, Annie braced herself to have something thrown at her, but as she turned fully, she was met by the wide, happy grin of one Lydia Martin.

Annie slowly walked back up the two steps she had taken down, "You… would have done that?" She asked, still slightly suspicious of, who was no doubt, one of the most popular girls in Beacon Hills from how she carried herself.

Lydia appeared almost offended, a hand flying up to rest on her chest. "Well, I _said_ I would show you around town, didn't I? I'm a woman of my _word_." Her hand lifted upwards to flip her hair over her shoulder before reaching out and grabbing Annie's elbow with surprising strength. Lydia dragged her into the house, smiling when she caught Annie's head tilt up as she looked around the grand foyer.

"C'mon." She pressed, continuing to drag the other girl until they got to the kitchen where a woman stood, leaning against the marble countertop and sipping at a mug. "Mom, this is Annie! She just moved in next door." Lydia introduced, finally loosening her steel grip on Annie's elbow.

The woman looked slightly puzzled before realization crossed her features. "Natalie Martin, it's a pleasure to meet you, Annie. You're Doctor Deaton's niece, right?"

Annie gave a tight, but polite smile as she grasped the woman's outstretched hand and gave it a quick squeeze. "Yes, ma'am. And it's uh- nice to meet you too." She gave a quick nod before a high pitched yap turned her attention to the ground. Almost immediately, her expression softened as she gazed down at the little black and white dog pawing at her feet.

"And who's this cutie?" She asked, the delight nearly impossible to mask in her voice. Lydia raised an eyebrow at the quiet girl's sudden change in demeanor, watching as she bent down and picked up the dog easily.

"...That's Prada… and he very rarely reacts so _calmly_ to new people."

Annie's face split into a small crooked grin as she used a finger to gently scratch the dog's neck. "I've been known to be something of an animal whisperer." She said casually, a small smirk playing on her lips as though she were sharing an inside joke with herself. Scooping up the little dog into her arms, she straightened up and looked at the redhead. Maybe, if Lydia proved to be a real friend, she wouldn't even _need_ to get a dog for herself, she thought to herself, the little smirk transforming into the ghost of a genuine smile.

* * *

"We really miss you, Annie."

Staring into her best friend's face on the screen made her heart ache for everything she had lost back home. "I miss you guys too, _believe me_ , I would love nothing more than to go back. Like, I've been looking into what it'd take for me to get emancipated, but I don't think Alan would like that very much." She rolled her eyes, rolling onto her back, careful not to accidentally push her laptop off the corner of the bed.

A loud sigh could be heard from Julia and she didn't need to be looking at the screen to know that the girl had just rolled her eyes at her. "Maybe this is good for you, Anne? A change of scenery should be good. I mean obviously after what happened…" Annie finally turned her head to look at the camera, rolling onto her side and supporting her head with her hand.

"Yeah, I guess…" She said, giving a half-shrug.

Julia leaned closer to the screen, giving the other girl a suspicious look. "You're gonna be talking to someone right?"

Annie pursed her lips and gave another half-shrug. "Uh, I'm talking to you right now."

" _Haha,_ you're a hilarious piece of shit, _we get it._ I'm being _serious,_ Annie. I know how you get."

Sitting up, she lifted her laptop onto her lap and leaned in close to the camera, giving an irritated and warning look to her friend. "Easily annoyed by prying friends?"

"Easily _depressed_." Came the correction. Julia leaned leisurely back into her chair. "Girl, you're the only person I know with the ability to feel guilty about _everything_ regardless of whether you were actually involved or not, it's kinda impressive actually."

Rolling her eyes Annie replied back, defensiveness clear in her voice. "I'm gonna have to check in with a counselor at least every month for a full year, don't worry."

"And are you _really_ gonna do that? Or are you gonna pull a famous Emery and somehow worm your way out of the situation."

She sighed, unconsciously pulling at the curls that had come out of her high bun. "Well, technically this counselor is my aunt, who's got a scary good intuition. I doubt she's gonna let me pull my bullshit."

Julia seemed to give a sigh of relief, making the other girl roll her eyes again. "For your sake, I hope you're right. I just want you to be okay, Anne." Deep down, Annie knew that Julia was probably right to worry. She _knew_ she wasn't as in touch with her emotional capacities as she really should be, and her emotional ineptitude tended to lead to some skewed perspectives, but she couldn't be particularly bothered to _care_ at this point.

… _Goddamnit, she's right._

* * *

"Scott! C'mon, man! Sco- You are _not_ Scott."

Annie flinched as the door to the clinic flung open, the bells ringing violently at the action. Her head snapped up as she looked up from her laptop in alarm, meeting the eyes of a boy her age. Simply blinking as she mentally told herself to calm the hell down, she fashioned her expression into one of boredom. "Yeah, no. Last time I checked, I wasn't Scott." She returned her gaze to the screen in front of her and continued tapping on the trackpad with her middle finger.

"Well, where is he?"

Laboringly, she drew her gaze back up to look at him, irritation clear in her eyes. "Did you forget to put a leash on him?" She answered, completely deadpan.

The kid only stared at her, trying to decide whether or not she was being serious. "He's… He's not a _dog_!"

Rolling her eyes, she leaned back in her seat. "I _know_ that. It was a joke."

"Not a great joke if you have to _say_ it's a joke."

"Not my fault you didn't _get it_. It's a great joke regardless." She spoke before dragging her gaze back onto the screen.

"So, you're _definitely_ not getting five stars on _Yelp_." Came the mumbled response. Annie rolled her eyes before pushing the laptop away and turning to the guy with an overly dramatic bright smile and wide eyes.

"Hello! Welcome to the Beacon Hills Animal Clinic! How may I help you? Need shots? Neutering?" She dropped her smile on the last suggestion before looking at him with the same bored expression. "Seriously, is there anything I can do? 'Cause if not, please stop wasting my time." She lifted a hand, gesturing vaguely towards the door he had just burst through.

"At least you said _please_." He muttered. "Seriously, where is he?"

Annie let out a short groan and shrugged at him. "Look, he got let off early. Once he left those doors, I didn't follow up with him. We've got this cool piece of technology nowadays called a _cell phone_ , I trust you've heard of it before?"

He twisted around, looking around spastically, as though he were looking for another person in the room before turning back to her with narrowed eyes. " _Geez_ , what crawled up your ass and died?" He asked, crossing his arms.

Clenching her jaw, she mimicked him, crossing her arms and narrowing her own eyes, leaning forwards as though challenging him. "I think it might be the last fuck I gave? I dunno, it was a long time ago, so I can't be sure." She bit back.

The kid stared at her for several moments, his mouth opening and closing as though he were about to say something before it finally decided to settle on a wide grin. "Okay, that was good, I've gotta admit." He shrugged.

Annie couldn't help but pause, leaning back immediately, the surprising response taking her completely off guard. Raising a brow, she surveyed his mole covered face, not expecting him to offer any sort of _compliment_ when their whole interaction thus far had been rather hostile.

"I'm Stiles."

Ah, she was pretty sure Scott had mentioned a _Stiles_ sometime during their awkward periods of small talk whenever she showed up when he happened to be working. Giving him a mockingly pitying look, she shook her head. "Your parents named you _Stiles_?"

He immediately frowned, "It's a nickname." He said defensively.

Annie shrugged, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Your name must be seriously unfortunate if you're using _Stiles_ as an improvement."He opened his mouth to come to his own defense once again but Annie interrupted. "I can't really judge, my own name's a pretty terrible one." she shrugged once more, her fingers tapping unconsciously on the wood.

Stiles closed his mouth and looked at her with puzzlement. "Annie Emery…" She introduced. "And that's the closest you'll _ever_ get to my real name."

Realization crossed his features, a hand rising to shake a pointing finger at her, making her eyes zero in on the limb in distaste. "So, _you're_ the Annie that Scott was talking about… You're a lot… _meaner_ than he made you sound."

Giving an unladylike snort that no doubt would have had Lydia slap her arm with aggression, she shook her head. "Yeah, well, I don't know Scott very well, but I'm pretty sure he shits sunshine and rainbows. I'd probably have to massacre half the animals in the clinic for him to call me _mean_."

"That… is not incorrect, actually."

A moment of silence passed between them. Annie looked down at her tapping fingers, keeping her gaze down as Stiles knocked once on the wood, nodding awkwardly giving a quiet, "... Right…" before turning to leave. She sighed and looked back up, hearing the bells jingle.

"Hey, uh- Stiles…" He stopped in his tracks, poking his head back into the clinic with furrowed brows and surprised eyes. Pursing her lips, she made a vague gesture towards the door. "I think he mentioned heading to a place called… Butler's, I think?" She questioned, tilting her head, but continued on at seeing the recognition in his eyes. "Said he was picking up dinner, or something. He left like ten minutes ago, if you really need him, you could probably catch him." She shrugged.

He stared at her for a moment before breaking out once more into a grin. He lifted his hands, giving her a big thumbs up, "Thanks, Annie. Wasn't so hard, was it?" Before she could answer, he rushed completely out, leaving the door to close on its own and for Annie to roll her eyes. Shaking her head, she drew her laptop back closer to her.

* * *

The feeling of her lungs burning and the cuts on her arms and legs from the surrounding brush weren't enough to keep her from running. She was getting tired though, she knew she was, and it was the fact that she _knew_ how tired she was that scared her. How long would she be able to keep running before she was caught?

She _really_ didn't want to find out.

" _Annie! Keep going, keep running!"_

Her mother's panicked voice rang out to her, echoing out, as though the sound were bouncing off of the trees surrounding her.

" _Annie! Run, Annie! Run!_ "

The last word was cut short by a mangled, loud, _agonized_ scream. "Mom! _Mom_!" She called out, slowing down as she whipped around frantically, trying to find her mother. Her chest heaved wildly as she tried to get the cool air into her oxygen-starved lungs. "Mom! Where are you?" She turned once more before finding the worst possible thing she could ever hope to find.

Her mother laid in front of her, at the base of a large tree. What were once bright, warm, and _lively_ brown eyes were staring up, unseeing and glassy. Claw marks were scattered across her body, from her face all the way down to her torso, her throat ripped out, painting her body with her own blood.

Annie stumbled backward, a hand flying to cover her mouth, cold shock making her feel as though a bucket of ice water had been thrown straight into her face. A low growl made her tear her eyes away from the horrific sight, turning to her right with bated breath, she felt her muscles coil. Red eyes, bright like a light gleaming off a precious ruby, were trained on her. She was going to die. She knew it. She could _feel_ it. Dead at fifteen, mauled by the very type of creature she was going to spend her life protecting and serving. Was that ironic? She didn't want irony.

The growl grew louder, making her instinctively take a startled step back, but the movement only served to encourage the beast to move forwards. Before she knew it, her back hit the ground violently and those blood red eyes gazed down at her, the werewolf straddling her waist. Long, blood covered claws were drawn high up above her, threatening to come down on her with fury.

They did just that.

Her arm flew up instinctively, but she wasn't completely saved. Her head whipped hard to the right before her face and forearm began burning with a pain she had never felt before. His hand came down again, striking her at her left shoulder, much too close to her jugular. Just as his other hand rose up to come down, there was a part of her that knew what would happen next. Next, an inexplicable force would throw him back. It would force him off her and onto the sharp, protruding branch of the tree located just in front of her. That was what was _supposed_ to happen. She'd had this dream so many times, had actually _experienced_ these events, that the sequence was burned into her brain. It haunted her every time she closed her eyes, but the result was the same. She was _alive_.

But this time things were different. The burst of power never came. The werewolf was never forced off of her, and before she could let out a scream that would be unheard by anyone anyways, the claws came down, easily piercing her neck.

" _Annie! Annie!_ Annie, wake up!"

Her eyes flew open and she immediately registered a strange noise echoing through her room. It only took another few moments for her to realize that it was the sound of her _crying_ , or perhaps _sobbing_ was a better word for it. Her hand flew up instinctively to clutch at her cheek, her scar burning as though the injury had _just_ happened.

Alan leaned over and flipped her bedside lamp on, the light filling the room but doing nothing to calm the girl down. "It's just a dream, don't worry. Just a dream." he soothed. His arms were wrapped around her tightly, but she was hanging onto him even tighter, as though he were her anchor to the world. She squeezed her eyes shut, but, at seeing the image of her mother's mangled corpse, as though it was burned into her retina, she quickly snapped them back open, tears falling freely.

* * *

An unspoken agreement had been formed between her and her uncle. If she had a nightmare violent enough to wake him up, violent enough to _have_ to involve him (which was happening a bit too often for her own taste), then it would not be spoken about the next day unless she was the one to bring it up. It was a quality she adored about her uncle, the man wasn't one to pry. He was much too intuitive for that, but while he may have been able to pick things up involving her behavior, he never brought it up or pushed her into speaking until she was ready.

Although, a part of her felt a bit sorry that the closest the two became was during the moments where she was clutching to him while sobbing her heart out. Although to be fair, a normal uncle/niece relationship was probably never in the picture for them.

Staring at the spoon she had used to stir her coffee that morning, Annie's brow furrowed in concentration. Her mouth pursed, her expression becoming one of slight pain before she sighed and slumped in her seat. Alan, who had walked into the kitchen to see the last moments of her mental battle with the spoon, walked over to the coffee pot with a mug in hand as he turned to look at her momentarily. "Have you been practicing?" he asked, before turning back to pour out a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

Annie gave a nondescript shrug before realizing that he wasn't facing her and instead sighed loudly, sinking deeper into her seat, a hand flying up to rub at her temple. "Trying to, at least. Nothing I've ever done is nearly as powerful as what happened in November though." she said, her tone clearly conveying just how disheartened she felt.

Alan turned around, the steaming cup in his hand as he walked over and pulled out the chair across from her. Placing the mug on the table, he leaned forward. "Try not to feel so discouraged, your abilities are rare and difficult to harness as it is. The fact that you're no longer in danger may mean that you have no real reason to use them at all."

Annie looked down at her hands with a frown, thinking back to the fateful night her life changed completely. It wasn't unheard of for Druids to be able to manipulate certain natural energies. It was sometimes _necessary_ for their duties. But to be able to use them in the capacity that she had? It was _excessive_. She could still remember the power that had quite literally burst forth from her. The emotions she felt leading up to it… watching her mother die and subsequently getting attacked immediately after was _bound_ to draw a reaction out from her.

The problem was that she didn't think she'd be able to do something like that again.

Shaking her head, she stretched her hands out in front of her. "I don't think I _want_ to do anything like that again. It was… scary." She admitted. "Not to mention, I just felt… _off_ … for _days_ after that."

Alan remained silent, only moving to fold his hands on the table in front of him, listening intently. For a split second of a moment, a look of indecision crossed his features. "What… what was- no, never mind." He shook his head as though he were waving away his own question, leaning back in his seat and grabbing the handle of his mug, drawing it up to his lips.

"What?" She raised a curious brow at him.

After drawing a generous sip of his coffee, he placed the mug back down. Pursing his lips slightly, an action her mother used to do rather frequently, he took a moment before finally giving in and asking the question that was on his mind. "… What was it… _like_?"

Annie frowned slightly, her brows furrowing as she looked into her own mug of coffee. "It's kinda fuzzy, but I don't think I'll ever forget how _painful_ it was." She spoke low and kept her gaze down. "It was first like that feeling you get before something goes really, really wrong, you know? Like, the unsettling feeling of butterflies in your stomach? When you get really nervous?" Lifting her left hand, her index finger began unconsciously tracing the lip of the mug.

"I don't remember much of what happened after but I remember trying to get back up to mom and like… seeing him just… _stuck_ there…" Her voice decreased in volume as she continued speaking, falling into a whisper as she finished. "But uh- it was like I couldn't move at all. Like I had used up all the energy in my body and then I think I just passed out." She finished with a shrug, clenching her jaw as she tried to reign in her emotions.

"Whatever, it's fine. I'm not particularly _jumping_ at the chance to be any more of a freak than I am." She lifted her mug to her lips and downed the rest of her coffee before standing up and walking over to the sink to wash the mug out, ignoring the way his eyes followed her closely. "And like I said, I don't think I want to do anything like it again." She spoke, not bothering to look back at him as she continued with her chore. Placing the ceramic cup onto the drying rack, she dried her hands and finally turned to her uncle, a smile on her face, as if they hadn't just been speaking about something serious.

"I'm gonna go check out the garden and then head to Lydia's, she wants me to meet her boyfriend." She shrugged, walking past him and grabbing the messenger bag that had been tossed down near the leg of the chair she had been occupying before. He simply looked at her with the same observant expression, his eyes once again giving her the feeling of being x-rayed. Rolling her own eyes, she shook her head as she grabbed her jacket, her other hand lifting to point at him. "Stop trying to psychoanalyze me, that's Marin's job."

He raised his hands in a placating gesture, a look of innocence painting his features. "I was doing no such thing."

"Yeah, right… And I'm absolutely fine. We're a house of liars."


	2. Wolf Moon

"Excited for your first day?"

Alan's soft voice reached her ears as he entered the kitchen, tightening the tie around his neck.

Annie gave a snort and turned around, a brow raised as she paused in preparing some coffee. "Alan, it's _high school_." She answered, as though that was the only thing she needed to say to make him understand. Which, honestly really wasn't all that much of a stretch. She lightly shook the bag of coffee grounds in her hand. "Gotta resort to coffee to make it bearable."

Pursing his lips, he raised an eyebrow at her. He knew the girl was anxious enough without a stimulant in her system."You really shouldn't be having caffeine." He gave her a pointed look. She only responded with a nonchalant shrug, reaching laboriously for the travel mug on the top shelf of the cabinet, silently cursing her uncle for putting it up there. Even with the significantly sized heels, she was donning, she couldn't _quite_ reach it.

Alan watched her struggle for a few more moments before stepping forward and reaching on the tips of his toes for the thing himself. She gave him a begrudging look of gratitude before offering a grin as he held it out to her. "Well, look on the bright side, it _could_ be vodka." She shook the portable mug at him just as she had done with the bag of coffee grounds before.

He rolled his eyes and sighed, crossing his arms, "Annie." He warned.

Unscrewing the lid, she reached past him to grab the coffee pot. " _What_? I'm just _saying_." She said defensively with a shrug, carefully pouring the coffee into the mug with revering accuracy, as though the dark liquid was the most valuable thing she could ever be handling. "And anyway, I'd rather be shaking violently than falling asleep in classes on my first day. I have an academic reputation to uphold." She held out the pot with the remaining amounts of coffee to her uncle before screwing the lid back on and walking over to the little kitchen table. Grabbing her messenger bag, she slung it over her shoulder and grabbed her jacket from off the back of the chair. Snapping her head up at the sound of the doorbell ringing, she gave a little wave to Alan who was pouring himself a mug of the leftover coffee.

"That's Lydia, I'll see you tonight."

"Remember you need to check in with Marin today!"

Annie sighed as she turned to leave, pressing her lips together as she lifted a hand once more as a goodbye, not responding to his reminder. The sound of her heels clicking against the dark wooden floorboards echoed as she made her way to the door. She was met by the sight of Lydia checking out her meticulously manicured nails. The bored expression on her pretty face melted away as Annie stepped out.

"Good Morning!" Lydia's perky tone drew nothing but an eye roll from the curly haired girl. To say that Annie wasn't a morning person would be the biggest understatement of the _century_. It didn't help that _this_ morning the first day of the second semester of school, her first day at Beacon Hills High. It wasn't like she could just slip past with new students like she could have done at the beginning of the year, _nope_ , that would have been too easy. Instead, she was coming in halfway through the year. There was no way she could be stealthy about this.

Annie pulled the door closed behind her, tugging at the cross-body messenger bag at her side. Turning, she met Lydia's unamused gaze. Sighing at the other girl, Annie simply raised the travel mug to her lips. "What?" She asked flatly, a brow rising as she looked at the redhead, taking a large sip of the hot liquid.

Raising a finger, she made a sweeping gesture towards Annie's body. "All black? Seriously?" She asked, clearly not very impressed.

The girl smiled cheekily and shrugged before bending down and placing the mug on the ground and straightening up to throw her jacket on. "I thought the rule was not to wear _white_ after labour day. I'm just being cautious." She said, picking up her coffee and taking another, nonchalant sip.

Lydia rolled her eyes and turned dramatically, her hair flaring out and bouncing as she walked towards her parked car. "It's a new year, I think there's been a reset."

Annie simply shrugged, looking down at her skinny jeans and blouse, both of which were black. She had _actually_ put some effort into looking good for today. Not only had Lydia threatened her rather creatively, because of course, if they were to walk into school together, she needed to be a reflection of her company, but she also just wanted to feel good about herself for what would undoubtedly be an emotionally taxing day. Look good, feel good was the motto for today.

"Just be grateful I didn't just throw on a pair of semi-clean sweatpants and call it a day." She spoke, following Lydia out.

The queen bee turned around, that saccharine smile Annie was used to by now plainly displayed. "I swear, I _will_ kill you _swiftly_ and _violently_ if you do that." She tilted her head and fluttered her lashes before opening the driver's side door.

Annie grinned and placed a hand over her heart. "You know, I especially love the way you deliver death threats with a cutesy little smile." She lifted her shoulders and fluttered her lashes back at the girl, earning a dramatic eye roll as a response.

"Get in the car, Annie."

* * *

Allison was kind of relieved that she was told to wait outside for an administrator to take her to her first class. At least _now_ she could freak out in the fresh air. As she made her way back outside, she sighed deeply, her eyes squinting slightly as the bright sun hit her face.

Another day, another school.

This was nothing new for her. If anything, she could say that this was _routine_. She could barely keep up with how many times her family had been relocated, but she supposed she shouldn't complain. Her father's job was _annoying_ , but it provided them with everything they needed. She couldn't be disgruntled much about it, despite the fact that she hadn't had much of a stable life growing up. Lifting a hand, she tucked her hair behind her ear, zeroing in on a bench where a girl was sitting, registering how odd it kind of was considering everyone else should have already made their way to homeroom.

The girl's elbows were resting on her knees as one of her hands tapped on her upper shin and the other clutched tightly to a cup of coffee. The girl was… _pretty_ , in a subtle, unassuming way. As though she had the ability to appear _gorgeous_ but simply couldn't be bothered to put in the effort. As she got closer, and the girl shifted slightly, she inadvertently revealed a prominent scar to Allison.

She inhaled sharply, not expecting to see something like that on a girl so young. Averting her eyes, she looked down at her shoes, not wanting the girl to look up and find her just _staring_.

Her back was hunched over and her beautiful mane of curly hair fell into her eyes. Her expression seemed at peace as it showcased a rather impressive case of "Resting Bitch Face". She walked over and took a seat next to the girl, trying to keep a decent amount of space between the two. Unsurprisingly, she didn't turn or acknowledge Allison's presence. Allison kept her head down and folded her hands on her lap.

"New girl?"

Her eyes widened as she turned to the girl next to her. She wasn't sure if she had been the one who had spoken but considering there was no one else _around_ outside, it was probably a safe bet that it was the girl next to her. She had a surprisingly pleasant voice, one that she wasn't really expecting from her. It was low and soft, a little raspy, but it was a sound Allison reasoned that she wouldn't mind listening to.

Allison smiled nervously and tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. "I'm not that obvious, am I?" She asked.

The girl sat up straight and turned slightly to look at her, a small crooked smile appearing at her lips, a stark contrast to the stony, reserved expression she had fixed to her features earlier. "I could practically _smell_ it on you. But don't worry, I'm just as nervous as you are, if not more." she reassured, with a nod.

Allison's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You're new too?"

The other girl gave a nonchalant shrug as her hand flew up to rub her neck."Yeah, my trick is to just look like I'm about to yell at someone. People confuse it with confidence." She looked down as she crossed her ankles. "I'm actually really nervous." She admitted, glancing back up to look at her fellow new girl. "This is my first time at a new school." As Allison got a better look at the girl, she could see the nerves that she had mentioned. The girl's leg was bouncing rapidly and the hand holding her coffee was squeezing the mug so tightly that her brown skin paled slightly at her knuckles.

"I'm pretty used to it, my family moves around a lot so it's nothing new for me… But it's still nerve-wracking when you don't know anyone."

Annie nodded in understanding. "I hear you. I've been here since mid-December so I've had some time to settle into town and meet some people, which is nice. But… uh- you know me now, so you can't say you don't know anyone." She offered a small smile to which the other girl returned.

Allison reached out a hand. "Allison Argent." She introduced.

"Annie Emery." Annie responded, clasping the girl's hand and giving it a light, but firm squeeze.

Just as they had finished introducing themselves, exchanging small, but supportive and hopeful smiles, the sound of a phone ringing broke the moment of silence that began to envelop them. Allison jumped at the sudden sound, giving Annie an apologetic look that Annie waved away. Allison reached into her bag and pulled out her phone.

"Mom, three calls on my first day is a little overdoing it." She gave a little sheepish laugh, rolling her eyes at Annie causing the other girl to crack a small grin.

From what Annie could gather, Allison's mother seemed to be checking that she had everything, causing Allison to roll her eyes once again before rummaging through her bag. "Yes… Everything… except for a pen." She said, realization painting her tone. "Oh my God, I didn't actually forget a pen." She closed her eyes in exasperation. Before Annie could offer some help, the sight of the administrator coming to lead them to their first classes walked over to them.

"Okay, okay… I gotta go." Allison cut her mother off, trying to end the conversation and succeeding as she stood up and stuffed her phone back into her bag.

Annie mimicked the action and stood up, clutching at her coffee with both hands as though the beverage was the only thing anchoring her to the moment. "Sorry to keep you ladies waiting." The administrator called as he approached the two. Annie gave the familiar, tight and polite smile that she seemed to be giving out quite often these days, shaking her head as though to wave his apology away.

The two girls began following him into the school as he turned to Allison first, trying to make small talk. "So, you were saying San Francisco isn't where you grew up?"

Allison shook her head,"No, but we lived there for more than a year, which is unusual in my family." the way she was clutching to the strap of her bag nervously was not lost on Annie. In a way, it was kind of comforting to know that Allison, who apparently moved _all the time_ , was feeling nervous just as she was.

"And where did you say you were from, Ms. Emery?" Her attention was brought back to the administrator, who was looking at her, a kind smile on his face.

"Uh, Auburn, Maine?" She shook her head, pressing her lips together into a shy smile. "I really don't expect you to know where it is, don't worry."

Allison glanced over at her with surprise. " _Maine_?"

"Yeah, a bit of a hike." She answered casually as she nodded in response. She was lucky that Alan lived in a small, sleepy town like Beacon Hills. It reminded her a lot of Auburn, which was equally as small. It prevented any sort of culture shock, save for, perhaps the little differences that came with being a New Englander in California, but she could deal with that. She wasn't quite sure if she would have been able to keep up with life in a big city considering all her life she had been raised in a small town.

Once again, the administrator's kind voice brought her out of her inner monologue. "Well, hopefully, Beacon Hills will be accommodating for the two of you." He said, with a smile. "Now, the two of you are, luckily, in the same English class. Maybe you can keep each other company for the day?" A part of her wanted to bite back, saying that they didn't need a _set up_ from the administration for them to get through the day, but she bit her tongue.

The man was being nothing less than kind, the suggestion was a harmless one, and from the way Allison was nodding, she seemed to think it was a good idea. The brunette didn't seem terrible, she seemed really _sweet_ actually. Definitely not the worst person to be designated friends with. Annie gave a slow nod as they stopped in front of the classroom. He reached forwards and opened the door for them, gesturing for the two girls to enter in first.

Immediately, Annie felt herself tense up as she let Allison step in front of her, having the taller girl take the first round of curious gazes before they were turned onto her. She could see some familiar faces, Scott and his friend… was it Stiles? Well, the two of them were sitting near the back. Some of the people Lydia had introduced her to were giving her polite smiles. She found herself only able to press her lips together in a sorry attempt at a smile. "Class, these are our new students Allison Argent and Anis-"

Her eyes widened as she realized she hadn't even thought about her given name. That was all the administration knew her as. Today would be filled with races to beat teachers before they could try to say her full name. It wasn't that her name was particularly _horrible_ , but middle school experiences with immature classmates had effectively ruined the name for her.

"Annie."

She was quick to interrupt, a slight edge to her voice. "Just Annie… please." She asserted before looking down at her shoes, ignoring how it felt as though all eyes were trained to the left side of her face. _It just feels that way, Emery, calm down_. She found herself thinking, trying to calm herself down.

He blinked at her, not expecting the sharp correction, turning slowly to look back at the rest of the class, he spoke again. " _Annie_ Emery. Please do your best to make them feel welcome." Allison was quick to make her way to a seat, Annie right on her heels, following her and snagging the empty desk behind her and beside Stiles.

Taking out a notebook, she pulled out a pen and was immediately reminded of the fact that Allison had forgotten one of her own. Just as she was about to pull a second one out for her fellow new girl, Scott had already turned around, a shy smile on his face with a red and black pen in his outstretched hand.

Allison gave a soft " _Thanks_." in return and Scott's smile grew bigger before turning around.

"We'll begin with Kafka's _Metamorphosis_ , on page 133."

Allison slowly turned around, only to find Annie gazing at Scott with narrowed eyes, but her eyes were drawn back to Allison when she turned to look at her, a soft, but slightly confused, smile at her lips before turning back around, steeling herself for the forty minutes of English class.

* * *

"How has your day been so far?"

"Fine, classes seem alright. People've been nice."

Looking into her aunt's gaze truly _hurt_. While Alan was most similar to her mother in terms of personality and demeanor, Marin was the closest in physical appearance. She shared the same smile, and what was even more difficult was the fact that their _eyes_ were practically identical, making Annie inadvertently avoid looking her aunt directly in the eyes.

"And you're all settled in at home? Alan's taking care of you?" She asked, her tone light and casual as she leaned back into her seat, only _just_ swiveling enough that Annie would have missed the action had she not been staring straight at the woman.

Annie nodded immediately, "Yeah, 'course." She said, her left hand absentmindedly playing with the end of her sleeve in an attempt to preoccupy herself.

Marin pressed her lips together as she stared at her niece, a _not-quite-awkward-but-awkward-enough_ silence settling over the two of them. She drew in a slow breath as she raised a brow at the younger girl. "There's not much of a chance for me to convince you to come see me more often, is there?"

Annie shrugged before leaning to the left, propping her elbow up on the armrest and letting her left hand rise casually to pull at some of her tight curls. "I mean, it's good that you know me so well." She gave an innocent grin.

Marin kept her expression steady, simply gazing at the girl straight on. "Annie, you _need_ to talk about it. At the risk of sounding clichéd, it's not good for you to bottle it all up."

She sighed and clapped her hands together, before gesturing to her aunt with them. "Well, it's a good thing I'm _not_." Shaking her head, she leaned back into her seat, " _Seriously_ , I'm fine. I got all my angst out back in Maine and now I'm ready to begin anew." She said flippantly, waving her hand around vaguely.

"What you went through was traumatic, it's alright to _feel_ , Annie."

Annie said nothing. Letting the older woman's words wash over her before opening her mouth. "I'm definitely feeling something…" She said quietly as she looked down at her hands. A moment passed before she glanced up, only to see Marin lean forwards, clearly expecting her to begin opening up. "It's irritation, don't get excited." She added, her quiet, solemn demeanor disappearing immediately.

Marin only raised an eyebrow at the girl, who looked past her aunt's head to stare at the clock. Once again clapping her hands together, she stood up. "Well, Marin, this was a _riveting_ meeting, but I'm going to need to go to class. A _rich_ education awaits me." She lifted her messenger up off the floor and slung it across her body before turning around to walk out.

Marin stood up and leaned forward, her hands supporting her, "Annie, just know that you're going to have to face what happened sooner or later. It's best if we do it sooner."

The girl whipped around, a tense smile at her lips, "Thanks Marin, but I'm sure I've _faced_ what happened enough. I'm ready to move on and it'd be great if you let me." With that she turned and left the room, keeping the door wide open and her aunt staring after her.

* * *

"Okay, so first day. How was it?" Annie leaned against the locker beside Allison's, tilting her head as she gazed up at the girl curiously.

Just as she opened her mouth to reply, a familiar sweet voice interrupted her. Lydia seemed to appear out of nowhere, cornering the two girls against the lockers as she crossed her arms. "Annie! I was starting to think you've been avoiding me!"

Annie grinned at the redhead and shook her head vehemently. "Oh _no_ , why would anyone want to avoid an absolute _peach_ like you?" She drawled.

"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, my dear."

Lifting her finger, she pointed at Lydia with a cheeky grin. "Ah, but ' _'tis the highest form of intelligence'_. I know my Oscar Wilde, Lydia." She shook her head before scoffing. "And what do you mean, I've been avoiding you? We have like, all our classes together."

"And then you just suddenly disappeared!" Annie gave a nondescript shrug, remaining silent. Her disappearance had been to the counseling office, no one needed to know that had been where she had gone.

The redhead simply rolled her eyes, only for her deep green gaze to turn to the tall, unsuspecting, brunette standing beside Annie. Lydia let a little smirk play on her lips. Seeing the two brunettes together was _funny_. Annie was comically short, even shorter than Lydia, which was a feat in and of itself. Annie seemed self-conscious enough about it, given the sizable heeled boots she tried to wear every chance she got. But the shoes did nothing to boost the girl too much, especially when she was standing next to a leggy brunette like Allison.

Shaking her head in appreciation, Lydia pointed to Allison's outfit. "That jacket… is _absolutely_ killer, where'd you get it?" Lydia's eyes seemed to zero in on sweet girl.

"My mom was a buyer for a boutique back in San Francisco." She explained, nodding with a slightly awkward air, as though she weren't quite prepared for Lydia's questions. Annie couldn't blame her.

Lydia's eyes were filled with intrigue, a sly smile playing on her lips. "Annie, you're out, and _you_ are my new best friend." she pointed to the taller girl with a laugh. Annie let out a loud scoff as she leaned her head against the lockers behind her. "I wasn't aware I had the mantle of _Lydia Martin's Best Friend_ in the first place."

"Well, _now_ you don't."

In all seriousness, a part of her felt a little warm at hearing Lydia so easily admit to their friendship. They had only known each other for about a month, but that had been more than enough time for Annie to get a sense of what the other girl was like.

 _Guarded_ was the best word for it.

The daughter of a divorced couple, Lydia seemed to have trust issues stacked upon trust issues, not that Annie blamed her at all. At first, she had doubted that Lydia was genuine at all, but after the first couple of times that they spent time together, she could tell that there was a lot more to the queen bee than she let anyone in on. From what she could tell, Lydia was almost _hypersensitive_ to anything that had to do with her reputation and image, and in a way, she really shouldn't have become friends with Annie considering she was lacking some key traits that fit into her perfect image of a perfect high school social life.

But she extended a hand of friendship _anyway_. A part of Annie still doubted that there wasn't some sort of hidden agenda considering Lydia was the type of person to _scheme_ , but as of now, nothing had gone _horribly_ wrong. And, dare she say it, she _enjoyed_ her time spent with the redhead.

" _Hey_ , Jackson." Lydia's boyfriend rushed up behind her, drawing his arm around her waist and giving her a kiss, making Annie roll her eyes as turn to Allison with an expression of disgust, drawing a quiet giggle from the other brunette.

Lydia leaned against Jackson, crossing her arms and looking at the two of them in an almost business-like manner. " _So…_ this weekend, there's a party." She announced, giving them a pointed look.

Annie couldn't help her reaction. At the news of the event, she scrunched up her face, her nose wrinkling and her lips pressing together making Lydia shoot her an unamused look. Allison was a lot more tactful. "A party?" the pretty brunette asked, polite interest coloring her tone.

Jackson nodded, "Yeah… Friday night. The two of you should come." He smiled, his arm coming up to support himself as he leaned against the lockers on Annie's left.

A sweet, apologetic look flashed across Allison's features, "Uh, I can't. It's family night this Friday." She threw her hands up as if to say ' _what are you gonna do?_ ' "Thanks for asking." She smiled at the couple.

Jackson's gaze fell on Annie, and she simply shrugged, a hand rising to rub at her neck. "Yeah, I've got no real excuse, I'm just... not in the mood for a party." Both Lydia and Jackson sighed in disappointment before Jackson gave the two of them a scrutinizing look. "You two sure? I mean, _everyone's_ going after the scrimmage."

"You mean like football?" Allison looked at the two popular teens, the question clear in her eyes.

Jackson rolled his eyes as if it was the stupidest thing he had ever heard. "Football's a _joke_ in Beacon." A defensiveness rose in Annie for Allison's sake. "Hey, dumbass, how's she supposed to _know_ that? She's been here like, a _day_." She gave him a distasteful look, causing him to give a light sneer at the shorter girl before shifting his gaze back to the more _agreeable_ Allison.

Raising his chin, he began speaking, pride clearly coloring his tone, "Well, let me give you a crash course. The sport here's lacrosse. We've won the state championship for the past three years." He gloated, the corner of his mouth quirking up into a smug smirk.

Lydia grinned at him, lifting a hand to brush some of the rebellious hairs that had fallen out of place from the rest of the meticulously gelled style. "Because of a certain team captain." She emphasized, leaning in for a kiss.

Annie rolled her eyes, crossing her arms as she looked at the couple, waiting for them to break away. Jackson turned to the two of them, an innocent grin on his lips as he offered up an invitation. "Well, we have practice in a few minutes. That is if you don't have anywhere else-"

"Well, I was going to-" Allison tried to interrupt, trying to get out of it somehow, but none of them got to hear whatever excuse she had come up with considering Lydia cut her off immediately. Grabbing Allison's wrist, she smiled that familiar saccharine smile she gave when she _knew_ that things were going to go her way.

"Perfect… You're coming." She began dragging Allison away before, calling over her shoulder, her smile still in place. "And I know _you're_ coming, Annie, considering I'm your ride." The curly haired girl sighed, knowing Lydia had a point. Either she could wander around aimlessly and _awkwardly_ around the school trying to find something to do to occupy her time, or she could suck it up and sit on some bleachers until a stupid lacrosse practice was over.

Ugh, she must have been _way_ more desperate for friends than she originally thought.

Squinting against the bright sun, Annie made a muffled sound of irritation at the back of her throat. Lifting a hand, she tried to shield her eyes as Lydia led her and Allison to some low bleachers. As they filed in, Lydia raised a brow at her, leaning over Allison to give her a questioning look.

"Will you at least _pretend_ to be happy interacting with other live, normal human beings?"

Annie dropped her hand and turned to her left, a bright, fake smile painting her lips. "Not even if it'd get me a Golden Globe." She said exuberantly before dropping the smile and crossing her arms, appearing remarkably like a petulant child. "I'm just…really not… into the whole… _sports_ thing." Annie muttered, letting her knee bounce wildly, the slight breeze in the air, lifting several curls off her shoulders.

Lydia leaned away from Allison and clicked her tongue, making the latter look to Annie with curious eyes. "Uh, that's a lie. Didn't you tell me you were an athlete at your old school?"

The girl, feeling rather like she was being put on trial, let out a loud scoff. "I would _hardly_ call myself an _athlete_."

Lydia lifted a finger to her chin, tapping it as though she were in deep thought. "Running track is a sport, last I checked." Dropping her hand, she made a vague sweeping gesture, as though to reveal something. "...Hence, _athlete_."

Annie shook her head, glancing up towards the sky as she sighed deeply. " _Fine_ , let me rephrase, I'm not into the whole _contact sports_ thing. Makes me _cringe_ to think of all the brain trauma these guys give themselves in the name of athletic glory." Allison couldn't help but look between the two girls with intense amusement, keeping up with the volleying banter.

A moment of silence settled between them as Lydia pursed her lips in thought, looking almost solemn as she looked out onto the field. _But_ it was soon ruined as she perked up immediately and hummed. "Hmm… at least they look _hot_ doing it." Annie glanced at her disapprovingly before shaking her head and muttering " _Unbelievable_." under her breath.

It was Allison's light voice that effectively cut their little back and forth short, though. "Who is that?" She asked curiously, squinting out to the field, her gaze fixating on the boy in the goal.

Lydia followed her gaze and gave a light shrug. "Him? I'm not sure who he is."

"Scott McCall."

Annie answered, drawing the two girls' attention back to her, both their gazes questioning, but Allison's eyes were very clearly demonstrating curiosity rather than the vague disinterest Lydia was giving off.

"You know him?" Allison asked nonchalantly, to which Annie shrugged.

Raising a hand to brush away the curls being blown lightly into her eyes. "We're not best friends or anything. He works at my uncle's clinic, we worked together a couple of times during the break. He's sweet, kinda awkward, but never really gave me a reason to dislike him." She explained.

"And she dislikes _everyone._ " Lydia quipped, leaning closer to the two of them.

Annie looked a bit affronted, leaning back slightly in defense. "I _don't_ \- I don'tdislike _everyone_ , I just get… easily annoyed." She muttered, pulling her sleeves over her hands.

Lydia scoffed loudly as she looked at Allison directly. "I tried introducing her to number 18 over there…" She nodded her chin towards the field, pointing out the player she was speaking about. "First thing she says? _'You are single-handedly killing the earth with the amount of aerosol spray you're wearing, ease up._ '"

Crossing her arms, Annie hunched over slightly, a stubborn pout making its way to her lips. "Look, if I can't breathe, nature can't either."

Lydia shook her head, her eyes looking up, as though she were asking for strength from a higher being. "You're such a hippie, oh my God. Next thing you're gonna tell me is that you like plants more than people." She looked back down to stare at Annie, who was pressing her lips together.

"Well…"

Lydia rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she turned to Allison, a brow raising. " _Anyways_ , why do you wanna know about whats-his-face?"

"Scott." Annie interjected.

Lydia waved her hand around vaguely. "Right."

Allison shook her head, trying to remain casual. "He's in my English class... _Our_ English class, I should say." She nudged Annie lightly in the side. The girl nodded as they all looked back to the field.

She winced at the loud thud that accompanied his body falling to the ground, the goal shaking slightly as his body fell into the net. The sound of laughter echoing across the field. The three girls looked on as Scott stood back up and readied himself for the next shot… Which he caught _perfectly_. He moved his stick quickly, so fast that no one reacted at first, or perhaps they just didn't know _how_ to react.

Another player stepped up to take a shot at McCall, who quickly caught that one as well, drawing an excited cheer from the crowd around them. Shot after shot, he saved each ball from going into the net. As the girls looked on in awe at the speed at which he was playing, a small smile played on her lips.

She broke the silence between the three. "He seems like he's pretty good…" She commented quietly.

Lydia nodded in agreement, looking extremely impressed. "Yeah, very good."

"Have you seen him play before?"Annie turned to look at Lydia with interest, but the girl simply shook her head, looking a bit disheartened. Annie pursed her lips before looking back to the field, watching Jackson shove whoever's turn it was next out of the way. He gave a running head start and whipped the ball straight at McCall, who caught it easily.

The reaction was nearly explosive. Stiles, who was sitting on the player's bench in front of them, jumped up and began whooping excitedly, Lydia doing nearly the exact same. An interesting reaction considering it was her _boyfriend_ who had just been seriously humiliated.

Both Annie and Allison remained seated, the two of them looking curiously at their fellow sophomore, but they were two very distinct forms of curiosity. Allison's spelled intrigue and interest of a coy nature, a soft smile playing on her lips as she made eye contact with the shaggy-haired boy. Annie's was more cautious in nature. By the way that everyone was reacting, it was like it was completely unexpected that Scott could play so well. He played as though he had trained since birth, the speed and control that he had over his movements was one that belonged to a _pro_. But… then, why would everyone be so surprised?

And… didn't the kid… he had asthma, didn't he? Rather severe if she wasn't mistaken. He had been late to work one day that she had been at the clinic with Alan, running into the clinic had practically sent him straight into an attack. She could remember Alan trying to reassure him that his tardiness was _fine_ , making sure the kid got to his inhaler in time. How could Scott go from _that_ to _this_?

Her mother had always taught her to follow her instincts. A druid's intuitions tended to be a little bit stronger because of how _connected_ they tried to be with the world around them, and her intuition was telling her that there was something _odd_ about Scott McCall, and she was certain it didn't _only_ have to do with his newfound lacrosse fame.

* * *

Annie had been munching at an apple when Alan came down the stairs, his tie lying draped around his shoulders. Setting her phone down on the table, she swallowed as she watched her uncle prepare his cup of morning coffee. Sensing eyes on him, he turned around, a brow raised expectantly at the girl.

Pausing for a moment, Annie tilted her head as she gazed at Alan. "Kind of a weird question, but uh- doesn't Scott have asthma?"

His brows furrowed, showing his confusion at the random question, but he nodded slowly nonetheless."Yes. And a rather severe case, if I'm not mistaken. Why?" He asked, looking at her curiously, placing his mug on the counter and approaching her. She sighed and shook her head as she bowed it slightly, her eyes focusing unseeingly at the black screen of her phone.

"It's just- he seems to be doing quite well as an athlete for someone with crippling asthma." She finally explained, dragging her gaze back up to meet his own. Suspicion was clear in her eyes, but there was conflict there too.

On one hand, Annie hated mysteries. She actively sought out answers to things she didn't know because of the discomfort of _not_ knowing. Her parents always seemed to just… _know_ all the answers, growing up with that just drove her to be like them, but it instilled in her an obsessive sort of curiosity. But since the attack, she vowed that she'd stay out of anything that had to do with the supernatural, which was another reason why Alan accepted her into his home. The retired druid knew all too well what their lives could do to them. Her need to find answers and solve the puzzle was butting heads aggressively with her desire to keep a quiet, normal- _ish_ life.

Whether or not she would be able to balance the two was _completely_ in the air.

* * *

Seeing Stiles Stilinski obsessively pouring over an obscene amount of books scattered over a whole table in the library really shouldn't have piqued her interest. But the things she was learning about Scott weren't adding up and it was making her feel antsy. She told herself that it was because Allison was her friend, that she was just watching out for her, but a deeper, darker part of her was being selfish. If the case really was what she thought it to be, then she'd have to take the appropriate steps to _avoid it all together_.

She had taken to watching the lacrosse practices, and as she proceeded through her day, she couldn't help but think back to the practice she witnessed that morning. Her gaze seemed to just drift towards number 11, training solely on Scott who had been weaving past player after player. His speed exceeded anything she had seen from the other players, and _definitely_ exceeded the capacities of someone who allegedly had _severe_ asthma. But what had her up on her feet was the incredible flip he had done before scoring a goal. That kind of athleticism didn't just manifest in someone unless drugs or a _bite_ had anything to do with it.

She kinda hoped it was the drugs. Drugs would be _infinitely_ easier.

Who better to gauge some reactions and perhaps even get some inadvertent answers than Scott's best friend?

Annie would have ignored it under any other circumstances. Annie _should_ have ignored it, but against her better judgment, she approached the table, and only when she was several feet away could she read some of the titles of the books he was hoarding. _The Loup-Garou!,_ _The Door of the Unreal, The Wolf Man,_ among several others. A frown pulled at the corners of her lips as she finally stopped beside his table, crossing her arms.

"You… really like werewolves, don't you?"

Stiles jumped in alarm, looking up with wide eyes as he flailed to shut the book his had buried his nose in. "Uh- yeah, the whole… man-wolf thing? Riveting." he nodded.

She sat down across from him, not missing the way Stiles tensed up, his hands gripping a large book tightly. Ignoring the wary way he stared at her, Annie's eyes casually scanned the spines of the books stacked on the table. Reaching out, she grabbed _A Pastoral Horror_ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. "I find that a lot of nineteenth-century literature tends to sensationalize a lot of it to really fit into the Gothic fiction craze that was all the rage…" She said, leafing through the pages casually before shutting it and placing it back on the pile.

A tense silence settled between them as Stiles' eyes narrowed slightly, not exactly certain of what to make of the situation. The last thing he expected was for her to sit down and talk to him, especially about _werewolves_ and _especially_ so casually. "You read a lot of nineteenth-century Gothic literature?"He raised a skeptical brow as he eyed her.

She gave a casual shrug as a response, leaning back in the chair, letting the front two legs hover in the air as she balanced on the back two legs, letting the action buy her some time to spin a quick lie. "I wrote a paper on the concept of werewolves through history for an English class last year." There, that sounded believable, right?

Once more, he simply stared at her. Annie could practically _see_ the cogs turning in his head as he opened and closed his mouth several times, as though debating whether he wanted to ask what he had in mind. Finally, he made a decision and leaned forward. "... _Hypothetically_ if I wanted sources that were, uh- accurate…" He waved his hand around vaguely before placing it back on the wooden table as he looked at her seriously. "... you know where I'd find them?"

Tapping her index finger on the table in thought, she let the chair drop back onto all four legs."Hm- I'd start with the Greek myths." She nodded, as though agreeing with herself. Lifting her finger, she pointed at him, "Specifically King Lycaon of Arcadia. And maybe from there you could move onto Roman myths, the Romans loved their wolves…" She leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms. "Then I'd look at early Western European legends. The closer you get to the Gothic and Victorian literary ages, well, like I said, the more sensationalized the stories get." She shrugged, before raising an eyebrow at his expression. His mouth was slightly agape before he snapped himself out of it.

Shaking his head, as though to physically clear his mind, he gave her a big sweet smile, folding his hands in front of him as he looked at her. "Hey… uh- you wouldn't mind maybe, perhaps just sending your paper over to me? Just for some light reading, you know?"

Pursing her lips, she let a moment of silence fall between them like she was just thinking about his request as she once again prepared another lie for him. Annie shook her head, giving a nonchalant shrug. "Sorry, Stilinski. My laptop got bruised and battered during the move. I didn't have a bunch of files backed up, and that was one of them. You're gonna have to do the hard work on your own."

He seemed to almost deflate at the news as he slouched in his seat, a hand rising to scratch at the top of his head. "Tell me about it." He muttered.

Sensing the end of their conversation, Annie pursed her lips before standing up. "Well, good luck with whatever weird thing you're doing. I guess I'll see you at Lydia's party tonight?" she adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder.

He looked up at her in surprise, "You mean I can _go_?" The incredulity in his voice made her raise her eyebrows at him questioningly.

She responded by giving him a weird look. "Why wouldn't you? I thought _everyone_ went? Or at least that's what Jackson and Lydia have been boasting nonstop to get me to go." She rolled her eyes, shifting the strap of her bag slightly on her shoulder as she tapped her foot.

He shook his head, all signs of suspicion and caution due to their previous conversation melting away from his expression. "Well, I mean, I just gonna go since Scott was going… Hey, you think that since you're friends with Lydia you could, I dunno, introduce us?" The excitement in his eyes was clear, shoving away any of the suspicion that had been there only moments ago.

Annie furrowed her brows and looked at him in slight confusion. "You don't know Lydia?"

Stiles rolled his eyes, as though she had asked a particularly _dim_ question, making her bristle in defense. " _Of course_ I know Lydia, how could I _not_ know Lydia? I'm just not entirely sure she knows _me_." He sighed deeply, leaning forwards on the table once more, clasping his hands together. " _So_ , what's it gonna be? 'Cause if you can get Lydia talking to me I'd give you our firstborn."

Annie blinked as she gawked at him before letting her gaze shift to the side, as though she were searching for an exit. Looking back to him, she shot him an odd look. "Um… Okay… so, first of all, slow _way_ the hell down, Stilinski, I may just not show up at all…" She shook her head, tapping her boot-clad foot against the floor. Tilting her head, she grimaced as she began thinking about the repercussions of not attending Lydia's party. "...although on second thought, I wouldn't put it past her to hire a lacrosse player to _literally_ kidnap me, so I'm just gonna avoid the kicking and screaming and just show up." She sighed, shaking her head before beginning to walk away.

She paused as she just passed his chair, and lifted a finger to point at him. "And keep your nonexistent firstborn." She turned to resume walking away, stopping only momentarily when she heard his voice call out once more. " _Wait, so you'll do it for free?"_ She gave a dismissive wave of her hand, cracking a smile at the loud shushing aimed his way, but once again picking up her pace to walk out of the library.

 _No conclusion jumping, Emery._

Although, with how uncareful they were being, it wasn't so much as _jumping_ to conclusions as it was… taking a _sizable_ step.

* * *

Annie had always been a subtle sort of person. Even before tragedy struck her life, she had always been the type of person to keep a low profile. She might have been widely involved at school, but she laid low, didn't get into trouble, didn't go out much. For all intents and purposes, she had been _boring_ , but she _liked_ it. Her mystical home life provided more adventure and odd experiences to last her a lifetime.

But here she was now, leaning against a brick wall and watching quite literally half the school lose their minds in Lydia's backyard. When she said it was one of the best parties of the year (second only to her birthday, of course), Annie simply thought that the girl had been exaggerating, but Lydia's smug boast seemed to be the most accurate thing she had heard thus far.

Her chosen activity for the night wasn't drinking, or dancing, or even interacting like, as Lydia put it, a normal human being. It was people watching. Granted, she knew how creepy it was to be leaning against a wall, hidden in the shadows, just staring at her peers.

Ah well, she'd get over it.

Her main concern was to find Allison, especially since tonight she was out with potential romance, Scott McCall. After several minutes of scanning the crowd, she spotted Allison walking out of Lydia's house, Scott in tow. The two looked _disgustingly_ cute, it made a small smile break out on her face before she watched the two of them walk deeper into the crowd, hand in hand. Pressing her lips together, she shifted her gaze to the next subject of her observations.

Suddenly, there was a movement out of her periphery, making her instinctively tense up when she saw someone approaching her from the side, but her shoulders relaxed when she saw that it was just a tipsy Danny Mahealani. As Jackson's best friend, Annie had met him rather early on of her arrival in Beacon, and she found that she rather liked the calm lacrosse player. He was level-headed and smart, and most of all, unwilling to take people's bullshit, a quality she highly respected.

What she _wasn't_ a huge fan of, however, was how _drenched_ in sweat the guy was.

He was breathing hard, probably since he looked like he had just stopped dancing. Sweat plastered his dark hair against his forehead as he shook his head at her. "You look like you're trying to find the person who shot your dog, _lighten up_!" He threw an arm around her, making her once again tense up, this time at the feeling of having his sweat make even the slightest bit of contact with her. "You're at a _party_!" He exclaimed, leading her closer to the throngs of people while she tried to stand her ground, placing as much of her weight on her heels as possible.

She shook her head as she crossed her arms, trying to put up a fight against Danny's subtle dragging. "I don't like crowds. I wasn't even in the mood to come here." She told him, drawing an annoyed sigh and an eye roll from him.

Lifting his arm from her shoulders, he whipped around as he walked backward into the crowd of people he had been trying to lead her into. "You need a drink… or several, wait here." He held out his hands, as though giving a command to a little dog, drawing an irritated expression from her.

But as he turned around and began disappearing into the crowd, she realized he was being completely serious. Cupping her hands around her mouth she tried to call him back. "No! Danny- ugh." Dropping her hands, she slumped slightly, not bothering to chase him down. She'd have to cut through that crowd and she'd be doing the exact thing she had tried to fight against.

Reaching to her shoulder, she drew the fabric of her shirt up slightly, taking a quick sniff of it and grimacing at the potent _sweaty boy_ scent Danny had so lovingly left on her. Sighing, she shook her head. Maybe it was best if she went home. She made her way to the large French doors that led back into Lydia's house. Spotting the girl of the hour herself, pressed up against a wall by her boyfriend, Annie did nothing to hide her vaguely nauseous expression.

 _As if I needed any more scarring_.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes in disgust before entering the house, the environment proving to be less hectic than outside, but _definitely_ not any much better in helping to ease her anxiety. She weaved through the groups of people, careful to avoid overflowing cups that were being held up haphazardly and the drunken teens holding them.

"Annie! An-Annie!"

Hearing her name being called, she whipped around curiously, but crossed her arms, as though she were physically closing herself off to conversation. As she turned, she nearly collided with an overly excited Stiles. Annie couldn't help but mentally groan, she didn't quite have the energy to deal with someone as hyperactive as him. Nevertheless, she pressed her lips into what she hoped was something of a smile, but more of what probably looked like a grimace as a greeting. He grinned brightly at her, a hand flying up to tug on his earlobe as he looked at her curiously. "Hey! Have you seen Lydia?"

She responded with a vague wave of her hand, gesturing towards the doors leading to the backyard. "I mean, I saw _part_ of her. The rest was being devoured by either a lamprey or Jackson, the jury's still out on what it was exactly." She gave a nonchalant half-shrug, watching as his excited expression seemed to drop with a deep sigh.

"Of course." He muttered, he moved his hand to rub at his chin, looking around with a disheartened expression. Shoving both hands into his pockets, he stood hunched over slightly.

Uncrossing her arms, Annie looked up at him with a sigh. "How'd the rest of your research go?" She asked, raising her voice slightly to accommodate for the rising volume of the music. She shot an irritated look to the side, as though she could see the DJ from inside the house. Dragging her gaze back to Stiles, she found him nodding a little too emphatically like he was trying too hard to be casual and subtle.

"Good! Found some… really great… wolf-y things. Really enlightening."

Putting her hands on her hips, she narrowed her eyes at him. "... _Right_." She drawled, nodding as she tapped her fingers against her thigh. But just as she was about to open her mouth to ask him to elaborate, his attention was effectively drawn away from her.

"Yo, Scott, you good?" He asked, his eyes wide as he reached past her to try and place his hand on Scott's shoulder. Annie moved out of his way, turning in the process to get a better look at Scott. What she saw alarmed her to the very core. Scott continued to push past them all, clutching at his head while he looked like he was in excruciating pain. Stiles followed him, very literally pushing people out of the way to get to his friend in pain.

Annie's hand rose as she pressed her fingers to her lips, looking around in with indecision written plainly on her face. But as Allison came barrelling through, an expression of confusion and hurt painting her features, she made up her mind. Following the tall brunette out the front door and down the front steps, the cool night air washed over her.

Looking up at the sky, she bit her lip, seeing the full moon clear and bright, the light illuminating the scene lightly. She really didn't want to be jumping to conclusions, especially considering she promised herself that she would stay out of all of this. The supernatural world hadn't done her any favours lately, but if Scott _was_ a werewolf and _was_ losing control, it would affect many more people than just herself. No matter what kind of persona she wanted to show everyone else, she wasn't _that_ apathetic and selfish. She couldn't just _let_ someone get hurt because she didn't want to _inconvenience_ herself.

Annie stopped short of running right into the other girl's back as Allison stopped dead in her tracks, watching as Scott got into his car and drove away. Allison watched him speed out onto the road, big brown eyes flickering with disbelief. Annie placed a hand on the small of the girl's back, her lips twisting into a small, sympathetic smile of support.

"Allison."

At the call of the girl's name, both Allison and Annie turned around and were met by the sight of an unfamiliar man. He was tall, dark and _imposing_ , Annie couldn't help but observe. He had sharp features, and while they were arranged in a relaxed, and even _friendly_ , way, there was something about him. Annie looked at Allison with a frown to see if she recognized the guy, but at her confused expression, Annie simply tensed up. How did this guy know her name?

"I'm a friend of Scott's."

 _Oh_ , that was how.

Allison whipped back around to glance at the street, as though she was expecting Scott to drive back immediately and come for her. But at seeing nothing, she turned back around. Annie tensed up as the man took a step closer to them.

"My name's Derek." He introduced with a small smile on his lips. "Scott had to rush out, but I can take you home." He offered, immediately making Annie frown and reach out to grip Allison's wrist.

An artificial smile made its way to her lips, "Can you excuse us for just a sec, thanks." Without waiting for a response, she dragged the other girl away, ignoring the indignant sound Allison let out at being manhandled by the smaller girl. Annie's smile dropped immediately as she began speaking in hushed tones, keeping a suspicious eye on Derek.

Letting go of Allison's wrist, she crossed her arms. "You know, my house is literally right there, you can stay over if you want." She twisted slightly, indicating the vague direction of her house with her body. She was only two houses down, they could easily just walk over, and she _really_ hoped Allison would take her up on her offer.

But of _course_ , things could never just be easy. Allison shook her head, looking tired, but giving an appreciative smile to the girl. "Thanks, really… But, I think I just really need to go home right now." She looked down at her feet. Annie pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed deeply.

Dropping her hand, she glanced back over to Derek, who was staring at the two of them, but making an effort to appear as non-threatening as possible. While his hands were buried in the pockets of his leather jacket, he maintained a rather open posture, his body language carefully positioned to remain as unaggressive as possible. But it was the fact that he seemed to put so much effort into _appearing_ open that made her antsy.

Dragging her eyes back to look at Allison, she pursed her lips and nodded to herself, as though she had just made an important decision. "I'm coming with you then." She said, certainty and stubbornness in her voice.

Allison looked at her in surprise, immediately shaking her head. "What? No, no, you don't need to do that." Like Annie had pointed out, she lived just down the street, it wouldn't make any sense if Annie went home with her. It would just cause a lot more trouble than it was worth.

Annie wouldn't let it go though, she tilted her head as she raised a brow, "Do you _actually_ know who that guy is?" She asked incredulously, placing her hands on her hips.

"Well, he says he's friends with Scott…"

Annie could only look at the girl in disbelief, not moving for several moments before glancing up at the night sky. "Am I really that cynical or are you really that dumb?" She asked impatiently, looking back down as she clenched her jaw.

Allison gave her an offended, hurt look, making Annie sigh and backpedal. "Look, I don't really care who the guy says he knows. I'm coming with you." She repeated, staring at Allison, making the girl sigh as she realized that Annie would not be moved.

"C'mon." Allison muttered, weaving her arm through Annie's before walking back towards Derek, a shy smile on her face when she spoke to him. "Would you mind driving the both of us?"

Derek looked at the two of them, his scrutinizing gaze settled on Annie for several more moments. While she was often paranoid that people stared at her scar-marred cheek when they really _weren't_ , she was _sure_ this man was almost blatantly staring at it, as though it were an answer to a question he had. She opened her mouth, about to snap at him, but she didn't get the chance as he shook his head, the little half-smile making a reappearance on his lips.

"Not at all, plenty of room."

* * *

The car ride was silent for the most part save for Allison softly directing Derek through the turns, leading them to her house. To her knowledge Derek was following her directions to the t, there were no weird detours, no driving in the opposite direction. Or at least, she assumed so considering Allison wasn't freaking out. _Well_ , freaking out _more_ than she already was.

Annie wasn't freaking out as much as she was just _panicking_. Were the two the same? She wasn't quite sure, but she was hyper-aware of her heart beating furiously, of the blood pumping in her ears, of just how _badly_ her hands were shaking. Worst case scenarios kept playing out in her head. Would the guy drive off into another direction at the very last minute? Right when he's about to pull into Allison's driveway? What then? Would he kill someone? He had too nice of a car to kill someone, right? No, that was stupid. Maybe _because_ he had a nice car, he would kill someone? Would he kill Allison first? Would he kill _her_ first? _Would he kill them at the same time_?

 _Get a fucking grip, Emery, holy shit_.

She let out a shaky breath as she clasped her hands together, squeezing tightly to prevent any more shaking. Calm, cool, and collected. She was _calm_ , _cool_ , and _collected_. She _had_ to be. Losing her composure meant mistakes being made and if they were currently in a car with a potential axe murderer, then no mistakes could be made.

 _Being in this car is a mistake, dumbass_.

Had she _always_ been this mean to herself?

She drew her gaze from the passenger side window to the road ahead of her, trying to clear her mind of the irritatingly hectic and anxious thoughts flooding in. Sneaking a glance at the driver beside her, a frown pulled at the edges of her lips at seeing how hard he was gripping the wheel. His pale skin looked even paler with only the moonlight peering in through the windshield. Her eyes flashed back up to the sky, the full moon clearly displayed right in front of them.

 _Wolves travel in packs_. She clenched her jaw, peeking back at Derek. It was _way_ too convenient that he showed up when Scott bailed like that, and if her suspicions about Scott _were_ right, then was he a part of a pack? Was this his pack member? She couldn't remember if Alan had mentioned there being a pack in Beacon Hills _now_ or not. But what if she was just jumping to conclusions? Marin would tell her that she was just projecting her own fears onto the situation at hand. Having just suffered rather recently at the hand of the very species she once wanted to protect, she felt a little too overly cautious around even the _idea_ of werewolves.

Just how far away did Allison _live_? Looking down at her phone, she bit her lip before entering her password and shooting out a message to Alan.

 _May or may not have done something stupid. Best case scenario: I spend the night at Allison's. Worst case scenario: you hear about my body being found tomorrow morning on the news. Have a good night!_

Glancing up at the rearview mirror, she made eye contact with Allison, who offered her a small smile before her eyes darted back down to watch the road. "It's uh- going to be the next right." She told Derek.

The man nodded once and did as he was directed. Annie had never been to Allison's house, so she wouldn't have been able to tell if they had arrived or not, but she could _feel_ Allison's relief as they pulled into the neighbourhood. Scooting up to the edge of her seat, she leaned forwards slightly and pointed to the left. "It's the third house there. You can just pull up to the curb." She said, already unbuckling her seatbelt.

Annie took that as her cue to follow her friend's actions. As she unbuckled, Derek once again did as he was asked and pulled up to the curb. The minute the car stopped, the two girls launched themselves out of the vehicle, eager to get into the safety of Allison's home. Allison, ever the sweetheart, though, leaned down before shutting the car door and spoke a soft _"Thanks_ " to the man while Annie simply shut the door, a little more forcefully than she really needed to.

Before Allison could shut the door, Derek shifted in his seat, his arm stretching out and laying casually draped across the top of the passenger seat. "Hey. Scott's going through a rough time right now, it might not be best to see him for a bit." He told her, but the way he said it, made Annie bend slightly to try and look through the passenger side window before quickly being reminded that they were tinted. It was some sort of mix between a… it wasn't so much _advice_ as it was a _warning_.

Allison, pressed her lips into a tight, polite smile before nodding, once again muttering a quiet " _Thanks_." before she closed the door and grabbed Annie's hand. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon." She muttered, quickly making her way to the door of her home, shoving her other hand into her pocket and pulling out a house key, letting the two of them in as quickly as she could. But it was the sound of Derek's car driving away that really lifted Annie's anxiety off her shoulders.

Once they were inside, Annie huffed loudly, letting go of the breath she didn't know she had been hanging onto. "I know _several_ young children who would be able to pass the Stranger Danger test a hell of a lot better than you." She dropped Allison's hand and poked her arm.

Allison rolled her eyes, a hand rising to weave through her own hair. "Well, you came with me, so I'm not sure what that says about your judgement."

"Oh, _believe me_ , I've been _seriously_ questioning my sanity for the past fifteen minutes." She pressed a finger to her right temple, rubbing lightly as she closed her eyes, her other arm reaching over to clutch at her upper arm, as though she were hugging herself. She opened her eyes and paused for a moment as she stared at Allison with furrowed brows. Dropping her arms to her sides, she tilted her head at the girl. "Weren't you wearing a jacket?"

"Oh… _damn_ , I left it in Derek's car."

"Allison?"

An unfamiliar voice echoed through the hall, and not a moment later, a stern looking woman with sharp features walked into the foyer where they stood. Allison seemed to let out a sigh of relief at hearing her mother voice as she turned, a small smile on her lips as she greeted her mother.

Gesturing to Annie at her right, Allison introduced her. "Mom, this is Annie Emery. She's the girl I was telling you about, the new one, like me?" The woman paused for a moment before nodding, recognition in her crystalline eyes. Looking at the two women, it was almost difficult to even imagine that the two were related, but if one looked hard, there were certain features that Allison inherited that _screamed_ her mother.

"Ah, yes. It's nice to meet you, Annie." The red-haired woman stretched out a hand in her direction, to which Annie stepped forward with an outstretched hand, grasping the older woman's and shaking firmly. Annie was _incredibly_ surprised by the vice-like grip she was met with. "Good, confident handshake." She observed, an immaculately shaped brow raising. Annie's lips twisted into a small grimace of a smile as she nodded.

"It's good to meet you as well, Mrs. Argent. And um- thank you, my father always had this _thing_ about first impressions…" She lifted her shoulder in a half-shrug. "Made sure that if I couldn't do anything else, that I could shake hands right." Allison was surprised to hear Annie's voice drop so softly. Over the several days that the girls knew each other, Annie had opened up significantly. There were still situations where the girl seemed to almost… close up, become _shy_ , a bit awkward, like her nerves just got in the way.

Allison's mother nodded with a smile, it seemed like she was in a good mood, which was _great_ for them. Allison wrapped an arm around the other girl as she looked at her mother with pleading eyes. "Is it alright if Annie stays over for the night? I was gonna drive her home tomorrow."

The woman looked at the two girls, bright eyes observing them in a moment of silence before, a smile was back on her face. "Sure, just don't be too loud. You know the rules, Allison." She looked at her daughter pointedly before turning to walk back to where she had been before greeting the two girls. Allison turned to her friend, squeezing the smaller girl's shoulders with a grin as she led Annie up the stairs. "I need to apologize for my mess of a room. I still have boxes everywhere."

Annie shook her head, as though waving away the apology. "If you want I could help you unpack some stuff. I'm mad good at organizing." She grinned.

Allison opened the door to her room once they made it up the stairs, and she couldn't help but let out a light laugh at the other girl. Responding with a grin of her own, she tilted her head in a bit of a questioning manner. "First time sleeping over at a friend's house and you want to _unpack_. For fun?"

"I'm a simple girl with simple pleasures." Annie gave Allison a wink and a nudge, as they walked into the bedroom. Her gaze scanned the room, easily spotting the boxes Allison had mentioned. The corner of her lips quirking upwards as she spotted familiar pretty purple flowers painted on her wall. Lifting a finger she pointed at the artwork. "You know what kind of flowers those are? They're pretty."

Allison twisted around to look at where she was pointing, and an apologetic smile played on her lips as she shook her head. "Nah, sorry. I just saw it in one of my mom's books and thought it was pretty." Annie nodded in understanding before walking deeper into her room with a smile.

"Where do you wanna start first?" Annie asked, rolling her shoulders, as though she were preparing for strenuous work. But just as Allison was about to open her mouth to speak, the sound of the doorbell, followed by frantic banging caught their attention. The two girls stared at each other in puzzlement as they remained silently, listening closely as they heard the door being answered by Allison's mother. Not a moment later did Mrs. Argent's confused voice call out to her daughter.

"Allison! It's for you..."

Allison frowned as she walked out of her room, Annie trialing close behind. The taller girl let her hands rest on the banister overlooking the foyer, confusion painting her features at seeing a disheveled looking Stiles at her door. She glanced to her side, looking at Annie who seemed a little preoccupied with sending suspicious looks to the lanky looking teen standing before her mother. Allison went down the stairs to meet Stiles at the door, her mother leaving her to deal with her spastic peer.

Annie, all the while, simply remained where she was, leaning forwards with her forearms supported against the bannister and her ankles crossed. She watched him carefully, fashioning her expression into one of steely apathy, as Allison asked what he was doing here. He swallowed hard, his eyes flying up to meet her own scrutinizing gaze. She was purposefully trying to make him feel nervous. Nervous people let a lot more slip, and she figured they could all use some concrete answers and not some random shots in the full moon-illuminated dark.

A hand flew up to rub the back of his neck nervously. Once more, he swallowed hard before answering. "Uh… Scott just wanted to make sure that you found a ride… and uh- got home safe."

"Yeah, she's good. No thanks to him." She spoke sharply, gazing down with judging eyes.

Allison whipped around and pursed her lips, sending a pleading look to Annie, who simply rolled her eyes and pressed her lips together, sarcastically miming a key locking her lips together before dramatically throwing the key away. Allison shook her head and turned back to Stiles who was shooting Annie a dirty look.

"I'm fine. But Scott better have a good reason for leaving me stranded. If it weren't for his friend, I would have been stuck there."

"Are… are you _kidding_?" Annie's incredulous voice resounded through the foyer, causing the two to look back up at her. "I live _literally_ two houses away from Lydia. Could've just stayed with me and avoided this whole mess. Could'a walked and been in comfortable clothes and non-anxiety provoking situations…" She began ranting, the emotions of the night finally catching up to her at the most inopportune time as she flung her hands up into the air in frustration. But as she looked down and saw Allison's unimpressed gaze and Stiles' almost confused one, she rolled her eyes, dropping her hands down to lay across the bannister again. "...and I'm sensing some hostile gazes so I guess I'm shutting up." she muttered.

Stiles scratched his head before placing his hands together and almost pleading with her. "Look, Scott feels terrible, really he does… Just, uh… he had to run out, he really couldn't stay." Allison sighed deeply before gently ushering Stiles out, guiding the door shut as he took several steps backward and out of her home.

"We'll see what happens Monday. Good night, Stiles." Before he could say anything else, Allison shut the door and turned around immediately. She blew out air forcefully, her cheeks puffing up as she began climbing the stairs to meet Annie once more. Moving off the bannister, Annie looked up at the girl sympathetically.

"So… are we gonna still unpack, or are you not in the mood?" Allison cracked a grin before reaching out to push the girl's shoulder lightly. Walking past her back into her own room, Allison shook her head.

"All I want to do is get some ice cream and popcorn and maybe watch some bad werewolf movies. It's the full moon, you know."

The corner of Annie's mouth quirked up into the hint of a smirk. Bending down she unzipped her heels and let herself drop to her normal height, ignoring the way her feet seemed to scream at her. She walked into Allison's room and placed her shoes out of the way before turning to the other girl. "Why the hell not. We've already made a mountain of bad decisions. Bad movies are probably the best way to end the night."

 _Not to mention, ironic as all hell._

But that was a matter to worry about later. Popcorn and ice cream both sounded like the perfect remedy to a shitty day.


	3. Second Chance at First Line

" _Annie! Run, Annie! Run!_ "

Her eyes snapped open, seconds before she felt herself violently tumble off the side of her bed, tangled up in her sheets. Breathing hard, she wrestled with the sheets for several moments before she wrenched herself free. Her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath as she reached up to wipe the sweat from her forehead.

Climbing back into her bed, she simply laid there, staring at the ceiling as she tried to catch her breath, her right hand placed over her heart, as though the action would steady it. From there, her hand moved up, her fingers grazing along the smooth skin of chest until the pads of her fingertips met raised skin. Frowning, she let her hand flop to her side as she continued her staring contest with the ceiling.

With a sigh, she finally moved. Tilting her head to the side, she squinted for several moments as she tried to read the neon green numbers of her digital clock. Quickly giving up, she turned on her side and threw her hand out, reaching out for her glasses. Slipping them on, she looked at the clock and audibly groaned.

 _2:56_

Squeezing her eyes shut, she gasped as all she could see were bright red eyes. Growling in frustration, she opened her eyes and sat straight up. She had lost track of how many nights she had lost sleep over the same _goddamn_ dream. Or rather, _memory,_ she _wished_ it was just a dream.

Annie got up from the bed and grabbed her phone. Turning on the flashlight she began padding over to her dresser where several jars were lined up neatly. Muttering the names of the dried herbs under her breath before grabbing the smaller jar of the bunch. Turning off the flashlight, she turned to her door, carefully opening it and turning to take the stairs. She quickly made her way to the kitchen, flipped on the lights before rubbing her eyes as she began preparing the kettle.

As the water heated up, Annie walked over to the little table and snagged a chair. Letting her head fall onto the dark wood, she sighed, still holding onto the little glass jar. She didn't often turn to making concoctions to induce sleep, but after several restless days, she just needed at least _one_ night of uninterrupted sleep. Lifting her head, she placed the jar on the table, her gaze training onto the neatly written rune in purple sharpie on the little white sticker. It would do nothing about the dreams themselves, but she wouldn't wake up unless she _really_ freaked herself out.

Which, she wouldn't put it past herself, but she was trying to be _optimistic_.

Watching her mother die over and over again was the _precise_ reason she _dreaded_ going to sleep, but of course, being a human meant that no matter how much she tried to stay awake, her body would eventually betray her and she'd fall asleep. Only to be faced with the dilemma of staring up at her ceiling, breathing like she had finished running an entire meet on her own.

Getting up from her spot she walked towards the kettle quickly, trying to reach it before it began whistling loud enough to wake her uncle up. Lifting it up from the stove, she carried it to the sink, placing it on the counter as she reached for a clean mug from the overhead cabinet. Pouring the hot water into the mug, she placed the kettle in the sink before turning to pull out a drawer and search for a tea infuser. Grabbing the infuser and the mug of hot water, she walked back to her chair. Once she was sat down, she squeezed her eyes shut for several moments, feeling the slight sting of exhaustion. Sighing, she opened her eyes and got to unscrewing the jar she had brought down. Grimacing at the strong smell of the Valerian root, she took several, careful pinches from the jar and threw them into the infuser which she placed into the hot water to steep once she was happy with the amount.

Valerian root was _nasty_ , especially on its own like she was about to drink it, but it did the trick. Glancing at the glowing digital clock on the stove, she groaned quietly at once again seeing the time.

 _3:21_

Maybe it was a bad idea to take something this late?

 _Strap in, Emery, you've been having bad ideas lately, why stop now?_

Shrugging at her thoughts, she reached out and swirled the water with the infuser before grabbing the mug's handle and looking down at the foul-smelling drink.

"Bottom's up." she muttered to herself before bringing the mug to her lips. As terrible as it tasted, she downed the whole thing, Standing, she placed the mug in the sink to clean later in the morning and returned back to the table to gather her phone and the little jar of Valerian root. As she made her way back into her room, tossing herself carelessly on her bed, all she hoped for was a dream. _Any_ dream would do, just _something_ that didn't send her into an intense panic.

* * *

For a person who claimed to absolutely _hate_ any kind of contact sports, Annie was showing up to the practices a little too often. Not that she had any interest in lacrosse, of course, but she _did_ have a rising fascination with one Scott McCall. His abandonment of Allison at the party on Friday night was enough to put him on her radar, enough to make her immediately defensive for her newest friend, even _if_ the girl seemed to have forgiven him already.

 _But,_ it was the fact that his strange behavior happened on a _full moon_ night that made her even more nervous.

Her thoughts were broken up as she physically winced at seeing Jackson nearly lift Scott and slam him hard into the ground. She watched closely as he laid there on the ground, even from her distance she could see his chest heaving heavily. Chewing on her lip nervously, she clutched at her phone tightly, before looking down and staring down at the device for a moment. Swiping at the screen, she brought up the camera and zoomed in as much as she possibly could before subtly holding it up against her knee, aiming it in Scott's direction. The coach walked over to him as he got back to his feet. There was no way she could hear what he was saying to the kid, but after several moments she could hear him shouting.

"McCall's gonna do it again! McCall's gonna do it again!" She watched as Scott ran back to the beginning of the line, shifting slightly as she followed his movements with her phone, keeping a careful eye on the kid. The sharp sound of the whistle cut through the air twice, and with coach's loud " _Let's go!_ " Scott was off. He sped forward, gaining more and more speed before he did the same that Jackson had done to him only moments before. With immense aggression, he shoulder checked Jackson so hard that the guy was lifted into the air and was slammed down hard into the grass.

Annie stood up in shock at the blatant show of aggression, her phone still in hand as her eyes went wide, the crowd's loud, sympathetic " _Ooh"_ s only fueling her concern. Even from her place on the bleachers, she could hear Jackson's pained groans. But as _terrible_ as it was for Jackson to be injured, her attention was trained on Scott, who clutched at his helmet and fell to the ground. Stiles rushed forwards, completely ignoring his fallen teammate as he instead, made a direct beeline for his best friend.

Watching Stiles stand Scott straight up, Annie narrowed her eyes in suspicion, her gaze following them closely. But as her eyes trailed them, she couldn't help but notice a formidable figure standing by the bleachers on the other side of the field when Scott and Stiles passed by him. Turning her phone towards him, she glanced down at the screen, trying to see the figure a bit clearer. Pale, tall, leather jacket. If she wasn't mistaken, it was Derek Hale. Almost as though he could sense her, he turned his head, shifting his gaze from Scott and Stiles to where she stood, her phone still up and pointed at him.

Swearing under her breath, she stopped recording and shoved her phone into her pocket.

 _Don't get involved, Emery_.

She bent down slightly to pick up her bag, slinging it over her shoulders, she hopped down the bleachers and made her way back to the school, very intentionally making a point to keep an eye out for any sign of Scott and Stiles. If she saw either one, she'd need to run the other way.

Looking down at her phone, she bit her lip.

 _Do. Not. Get. Involved._

* * *

"Annie!"

The curly haired girl heard Lydia's clicking heels before she could actually see the girl. Not too soon after she heard her name being called, though, did Annie spot her. Lydia threaded her arm through hers, slowing down their pace as they walked through the hall. Annie simply raised a brow at the girl's wide grin. "Have you seen Allison?" She asked sweetly, eyelashes fluttering prettily as she looped their arms together.

Annie shook her head, furrowing her brows. "Uh, no, not yet. But I know she should be getting out of French right now." She frowned at the glint in the girl's bright eyes. "Why…?" She asked, drawing out the vowel as she turned to look at Lydia in suspicion, pulling away from the girl slightly to look at her fully.

"Stop looking at me like that, I just want to introduce her to…" She narrowed her eyes as she turned around, carefully styled curls hitting Annie unapologetically in the face. But it was the way that Lydia was just searching for another victim that led Annie to believe that the girl was simply scheming rather than doing something casually. "Ah! Nathan! I want to introduce her to Nathan!" She grinned before bouncing off to grab whoever _Nathan_ was.

He was just as confused, if not more than she was as Lydia dragged him back to their spot in the hallway. And just as though she had known that someone was looking for her, Allison came up behind them,

"Hey, guys." She greeted, making Lydia's eyes light up, a sly smile pulling at the corners of her lips.

"Oh! _Great_! I was looking for you!" She exclaimed excitedly, letting go of Nathan's arm and instead, looping her own with Allison's. The taller brunette gave Lydia an inquisitive look before shifting her gaze to the lacrosse player imposing on the trio's dynamic. "There's someone I want you to meet! I figure that it'd make it easier to settle in if you were introduced to as many people as possible!" She said sweetly, making Annie raise an eyebrow at the girl, watching as she flourishing a hand towards Nathan.

"Allison, this is Nathan, and Nathan, _this_ is Allison." She gave the very stereotypical introductory line, a wide grin playing on her painted lips.

Allison smiled and held out her hand, "Hi." she greeted.

"Nice to meet you." Nathan nodded, squeezing her hand.

"She's the new girl, she just moved here." Lydia explained to him. His eyes lit up in recognition, having heard about the new girls at Beacon Hills, she must have been one of them. Smiling at her, he began making small talk.

"Oh, how do you like it?" He asked, interest clear in his voice.

Allison laughed lightly, that little laugh that people did when they felt vaguely uncomfortable but still want to be polite. Nodding, she raised a hand to rub her left arm. "I like it."

Annie's attention was drawn away from the light conversation towards an approaching Scott McCall, whose brows were furrowed and eyes were set in a glare. Following his gaze, she met Lydia's own smug smirk, and things only got even more confusing. Giving the redhead a questioning look, she only responded with an even large smirk.

Lydia unlooped her arm from Allison's and reached for Nathan's hand, "We should go, Annie, c'mon." She said happily, gently pulling him away from Allison, who smiled at them and gave Nathan a little wave. Scott and Allison were left to speak on their own while Nathan bid the two girls goodbye, needing to get to his own class.

Walking closer side by side with Lydia, she only looked at the girl silently, making her turn and raise an expectant brow. "I know I'm _gorgeous_ but your staring is bound to raise some questions."

Annie shrugged, "Not a problem with me." She quipped back. Raising her thumb, she lazily pointed over her shoulder. "But what I _do_ have a problem with is the sudden interest in introducing Allison to people." Letting her hand drop slightly, she tugged at the strap of her bag.

"Well, like I said, I figured it'd be easier for her to settle in if she knew people. I did the same thing for you when you got here." She said, innocence dripping from her words. Annie had to give her that. That was true, Lydia _did_ show her around Beacon Hills, as well as introduce her to some of the lacrosse team and the girls she hung out with the most. Nevertheless, she couldn't get over the staring contest she seemed to have with Scott.

Sighing, she let it drop, she couldn't expect to understand all the intricacies of Lydia's carefully crafted social kingdom. Shaking her head, the girls walked into class together, immediately finding their usual seats and sitting down beside one another, Lydia turned to her suddenly, as though she had just remembered something important.

"You're coming to the hospital with me after this period, FYI."

Annie looked at her incredulously, "Um- Thanks for the invite, but huffing the stench of antiseptic doesn't sound like a great afternoon, so I'm gonna take a _hard_ pass."

Lydia pursed her lips and looked at her as though she were being ridiculous. And granted, perhaps a part of her _was_ , but she _really_ did not want to be anywhere near a hospital, especially after it seemed like it was only a week ago that she had been a patient in one. "And who's going to give you a ride home?"

Annie opened her mouth to speak before closing it. From what she had seen, Allison got picked up by her parents, it wouldn't exactly be a _huge_ deal to ask for a ride home, but that required a) effort, and b) a lack of social anxiety she really wished she had right now. Clenching her jaw, she avoided Lydia's triumphant look by preoccupying herself with taking out her notebook and pens.

Lydia sighed and placed a hand on Annie's arm. "I _would_ drop you off home, but home is in the opposite direction of the hospital and _honestly_ I don't want to sit in a hospital by myself. _Please?_ " She pouted.

"Goddamnit." She sighed, holding up an accusing finger. Annie narrowed her eyes and dropped her hand, "I bet you're used to flashing those big green eyes and getting what you want."

The other girl gave her a sly smirk, "Absolutely, it's wonderful to know that I hold the same power over you, too." She said sweetly, topping it off with a wink. Before Annie could respond with _anything_ , the teacher walked in and immediately began lecturing. The girl settled into her seat and absentmindedly brood about the fact that Lydia was truly getting dangerously close to wrapping Annie around her pretty, manicured little finger.

* * *

Annie had once wanted to become a doctor. It was only natural since her mother had been one, every child always wanted to grow up to be just like their parents, and she had been no different. Marta Emery had been a brilliant ER surgeon, one with intuitions like no other and problem-solving skills that put her among the very best in the region. Annie had every single intention to follow in her footsteps, but of course, _now_ it was a bit hard since just being in a hospital seemed to cause her to break out in a cold sweat.

Even just waiting in a sitting room was making her fidget insufferably, to the point where Lydia had asked her to get them some water from a vending machine, or better yet, the cafeteria, or to just take a lap. _Anything_ that would stop her from bouncing her leg beside her for any longer. Annie had chosen to get the water, not wanting to accidentally end up in an unfamiliar part of the hospital because she was just aimlessly and absentmindedly wandering about.

Instead, she very consciously kept in mind that she had a task and very dutifully followed the signs to the cafeteria, It hadn't taken very long for her to complete her simple mission, Making her way back to where Lydia was sitting, she stopped in her tracks at finding two familiar figures speaking in hushed tones and separating. Stiles, rushing towards her and Scott making his way in a different direction. She watched as Stiles seemed to just spot Lydia and he whipped around, a look of panic on his face before steely reservation overtook his expression.

He began speaking to her, but Annie couldn't make out the words until she got much closer.

"... just had this kind of connection? Unspoken, of course. Maybe it'd be kinda cool to, uh- get to… know each other… a little better?" He asked, looking at the pretty girl with hope in his eyes.

Lydia only sighed in irritation. "Hold on, give me a second." Sweeping her bangs back, she reached towards her ear and removed the Bluetooth that was hidden away by her flowing hair.

"Yeah, I didn't get _any_ of what you just said. Is it worth repeating?" She asked, doing nothing to hide the passive aggressiveness in her voice.

Letting out an awkward laugh, trying to be as nonchalant as possible, Stiles scrunched up his nose, waving his hand as though waving off what he had been saying earlier. "Pft. _No…_. Sorry… I'll just… sit… You don't care." He muttered to himself, stumbling into a chair, just past the corner he was leaning against.

She rolled her eyes and with a soft, sarcastic, " _Okay_." she returned back to her call.

"That was _literally_ the most pathetic thing I've ever seen." Stiles' head whipped up at the sound of her dry, drawl tone. Annie stood at the nurse's station, leaning up against it casually, two bottles of water in her hands.

"What are _you_ doing here?" He asked, unable to keep the accusatory tone out of his voice, to which she narrowed her eyes.

Lifting her chin, she nodded towards Lydia who was still nodding along to whoever was on the other line. "She was my ride from school and since Scott totally just laid Jackson out," She tilted her head, a mockingly excited smile making its way to her lips. "I'm stuck _here_ until he's released! So, make sure to give the boy wonder a _huge_ thanks from me." The large smile dropped impressively fast as she tapped one of the bottles against her thigh. "I have important things to do."

"Like what?" He asked, suspicion clearly coloring his tone.

It was his suspicion that made her snap at him. Nevermind the fact that he was truly _right_ to be suspicious of her, and had the roles been reversed, she would have _one hundred percent_ been just as suspicious, if not more than he was right then. But nevertheless, she couldn't help the snark that escaped her lips. "Hunting werewolves." She said, completely deadpan and with a roll of her eyes, unable to keep the self-satisfied feeling from rising up within her as she watched his eyes widen, unsure if he should take her words to be truthful or not.

"Uh… tha- that's a joke, right?"

She looked at him, her brows rising as she looked at him innocently. "I knew you had some weird fascination with werewolves but I didn't take you for an actual _believer_ , Stilinski." She let her hands drop to her sides, each one still clutching to a water bottle.

Stiles clenched his jaw as his toe tapped impatiently, realizing that she hadn't _actually_ answered the question, which made him rather nervous. The girl was dropping too many hints that were beginning to make him antsy. Seeing his tense expression, she sighed and shook her head. There was no need to make him so anxious and suspicious, not if it would only lead him to pester her.

Pestering meant involvement, _and for the last time, Emery, do not get involved_.

" _Yes_ , I'm kidding, _dumbass_." She muttered under her breath, loud enough for him to hear her. He still seemed suspicious of her, but she could tell that the stiffness in his shoulders seemed to alleviate, even if just a little. "Besides, hunting the supernatural is strictly a _weekend_ activity." the rational part of her mind seemed to mentally sigh at her inability to control herself.

Stiles crossed his arms, his shoulders once again tensing up as he leaned back into his seat and simply stared at her, as though she would just give in and tell him outright whether or not she knew. An awkward moment of silence passed between them before Annie made a decision and pushed herself off the nurse's station, taking a step closer to him with a look of casual curiosity and concern painting her features.

"Hey, what's going on with Scott? I saw you two running off after he tore down Jackson, was he good?" She asked innocently, the quick shift in her behavior making him blink and shake his head slightly, as though the action would help clarify what had just happened. The part of her that screamed to not involve herself in whatever mess the two teens found themselves in was beginning to be asphyxiated rather impressively by the part of her that wanted to _do_ something.

She figured she could come to a compromise, though. Scott and Stiles were _obviously_ messing with things they had absolutely _no_ idea about, and that was the problem. They were being so _obvious_ that if they weren't careful, they would undoubtedly attract unwanted attention to Scott's predicament.

If they felt like she was catching on, then maybe they'd tone it down? Maybe they'd be more careful with what they did and said? She wanted to uphold the facade of just simply not giving a _single_ fuck, but as grumpy and moody as she presented herself, there was nothing she could do to hide the deepest components of her core. She _looked_ like she didn't give a single fuck, but she gave _many_ , and while she didn't exactly know Scott and Stiles, or particularly consider them her _friends_ , no one deserved to be thrown into the supernatural world completely blind.

It wouldn't be getting involved if she just pulled some strings from the background, right?

She watched carefully as Stiles paled, nodding quickly. "Yeah, yeah. He's fine. He just… He's got some, uh, anger issues and they got the best of him. I was just helping to calm him down."

"Anger issues, huh?" She repeated skeptically. "He doesn't seem like the type." She commented nonchalantly, tilting her head. "Well, anyways, I've gotta go. Be sure to tell McCall to watch himself before he wolfs out again." She said with a small smile.

Stiles, in that moment, could _swear_ he felt his soul leave his body. " _What_!?" He choked out, his eyes shifting from the girl in front of him to the door of the morgue that Scott was currently in, as though he were making a plan to just run in there, grab Scott and get the hell out of the hospital, like that would solve the issue of this _freaking girl_.

She looked at him innocently. "I said, tell Scott to watch himself before he _hulks_ out again." He looked at her warily before nodding, at which she took several steps forward, feeling Stiles's eyes burning holes in the back of her head but very intentionally keeping her gaze forwards as she held out a bottle to Lydia with a smile. She took it and mouthed a thank you to Annie who moved in front of her and took a seat on her left.

Meanwhile, Stiles twisted his head, turning to look just past the corner to watch Annie sit, his knee beginning to bounce anxiously as his eyes trained on the dark-haired girl's slouched posture.

Lydia busied herself with unscrewing the cap of the water bottle and taking a sip. At seeing Jackson approaching them from the end of the hall, she screwed the top back on and stood up, looking at her boyfriend expectantly. "Did he do it?" She asked, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she tilted her head.

"He said not to make a habit of it, but one cortisone shot won't kill me." Jackson spoke, his voice showing hints of tension and irritation. Although, while Annie could blame him for a _lot_ of things, she couldn't blame him for feeling frustrated at the whole situation. She had been an athlete only several months ago, she knew what it was like to feel like you wouldn't be able to participate in something you worked so hard for. Sinking into her seat, she crossed her arms as she watched the couple.

Lydia pursed her lips as she nodded. "You should get one before the game too." Jackson only gave her an unamused look, causing her to roll her eyes at her boyfriend. "The pros do it _all_ the time." She placated gently before her demeanor changed suddenly. Standing straight up, she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow challengingly. "You want to be a little high school amateur? Or… Do you want to go… _pro_?" She finished her question by drawing him in close, letting her lips hover over his for a moment before claiming his lips.

Making a face, Annie turned her head, trying to avert her eyes from the couple kissing heavily in the middle of the hall. "Ugh, I'm gonna go to the bathroom, I suddenly feel like I'm about to vomit and I don't wanna have them call a code orange." She shook her head, standing up, stretching for a moment before taking a step to the side, as though she was about to walk away from them.

"Well, hurry up, we'll meet you at the car." Lydia spoke before immediately guiding Jackson back to the entrance of the hospital.

Annie pressed her lips together watching as they quickly walked away from her, only reacting by lifting her arms slightly and letting them flap back to her sides., "Uh, I was just kidding, guys." She muttered before sighing and bending down to collect her bag. Stuffing the untouched water bottle into it before frowning at the familiar voice that reached her.

"The scent was the same."

If Annie had absolutely any more doubts that Scott was a werewolf, he had just confirmed it to her point blank. There was no way a normal human being would be talking about _any_ kind of scents. Sitting back down quietly, she pressed herself as close to the back of the chair as possible and remaining still, trying not to draw any attention to herself, for once hoping that Scott and Stiles wouldn't suddenly develop the conscientiousness of keeping their voices down.

"You sure?"

" _Yes_."

"So he _did_ bury the other half of the body on his property?"

She needed to go… Like, _now_. She drew the line at bodies. She had seen way more bodies than a fifteen-year-old girl ever should, and if whatever Scott and Stiles were up to resulted in finding _more_ … well, she just needed to make sure she didn't find out exactly what they were up to.

"Which means we have proof he killed the girl."

"I say we use it."

"How?"

Peeking slightly around the corner, she spotted Scott's retreating figure and she quickly stood up. She wasn't following them, not at all. She was simply just leaving the hospital. She was just leaving and if she happened to hear some more of their conversation then that was on _them_ , not her.

 _Right_?

Making sure to keep close to the walls, Annie tried to maintain a distance where she could still hear them speaking but hopefully prevent them from finding her eavesdropping on them.

"Tell me something first." Seeing Stiles begin to turn around, she clumsily whipped around and pulled the hood of her jacket over her head as she leaned against the wall. _Smooth, Emery_ , a snide voice resounded in her mind. She mentally hushed at it, trying to tune back into the conversation.

"-want to _stop_ Derek, or because you want to play in the game and he said you couldn't?"

Even the part of her that screamed at her not to get up in their business was quieting down, the pieces of information being fed to her creating a much clearer picture of what was going on. The whole _Derek_ thing was quite disconcerting though, knowing that only under a week ago she and Allison had been in his _car_ , and apparently, he had _killed_ a girl? It sent chills down her spine just thinking about it.

"There were bite marks on the legs, Stiles- _bite marks_."

On the bright side, at least she knew her intuition about Derek also being a werewolf was rather accurate. Was that okay to think? She wondered whether or not Alan knew anything about this. She knew the guy was "retired", that he had no intentions of going back to being an active emissary, but there was no way he _didn't_ have some kind of idea on what was happening in what she thought was a sleepy little town. Grimacing, she shook her head slightly, as though to physically shake her mind clear.

"Okay! Well, we're gonna need a shovel!"

 _Nope_. Absolutely not. That was where she tapped out.

Stiles stretched his hand out, lightly slapping Scott's arm, "Oh, wait, dude, we gotta be more careful." He said, his eyes widening like he had only just remembered something.

Scott looked at his best friend in confusion and concern. "What? Why?"

"It's _Annie_."

 _Maybe_ she could tap back in, just for a little bit, she thought as she perked up at her name, unable to keep the sly grin that began to grow on her lips.

"She's getting _weird_ about things- like, she has this little smile like she knows something and I'm pretty sure that something is _you_. It's _freaky._ "

 _Freaky_? Who was _he_ to call her freaky? Did the kid have _any_ self-awareness?

" _How_?" Came the nervously incredulous question. Even though her back was facing them, she could take a good guess towards what Scott's expression looked like then. Big brown eyes, opened as wide as they could be, mouth just a little slack-jawed, and a look of general confusion painting his features. Although, she was beginning to wonder whether that look of general confusion was just a normal thing for Scott.

Stiles shook his head, a frown pulling at the corner of his lips as he turned, his hand moving to rest on Scott's shoulder as they began walking out. "I dunno, but it's _weird_." He shook his head.

Annie slowly turned around, an irritated look in her eyes at his words, but otherwise, she felt a bit triumphant. Her little goal of trying to have them become a little more conscious of what they did and said seemed to have worked rather smoothly, giving her a sense of accomplishment she hadn't felt in some time. Sighing, she pushed her hood off as she began walking out, following the same route the other two teens had just taken.

One thing was for certain, though.

This whole "not getting involved" thing was getting harder and _harder_ by the minute.

* * *

Annie liked to think of herself as an imaginative person. Creativity and resourcefulness were two things her parents made _sure_ to instill in her from a young age. But her creativity resided more in the arts of herbalism and _bullshitting_. Not _arts and crafts_. Lydia had reminded her all day that she _had_ to have a sign supporting at least one of the players on the team, even going so far as to show up at her door _with_ the poster making materials, only to simply walk back to her house after the items were shoved into her hands.

Only _Lydia_ could be _that_ extra for a _poster_.

Nevertheless, Annie did as she was asked, realizing that Lydia would find _some_ way to hold it over her head, which seemed kind of ridiculous considering it was just a _poster_. But she didn't quite feel like testing the waters with Lydia Martin. The girl acted as though she were the most typical, bitchy, high school queen bee that one could find in literally _any_ sort of early 2000′s coming of age teen drama films, but she was _vicious_. She had a hidden intelligence that exceeded anything Annie had ever seen in anyone before. So, not only could the red-headed bombshell of a girl completely _shatter_ someone's self-esteem, but she could do so by supplying hard, scientific evidence and look _flawless_ doing it.

Though Annie had to admit, it was kinda hot.

But her initial reluctance to get dragged into watching any more lacrosse superseded any desire to make a serious poster. Which resulted in the glittery monstrosity Lydia was glaring at right now. Annie looked down at her sparkly sign with a pout. "Look, in my opinion, this sign could be for literally anyone on the team. I'm just being _inclusive_." She spoke, her voice rising to compensate for the loud rumbling of the crowd in the stands.

" _Go, Asshole, Go_?" Lydia read off before looking at her, clearly very unhappy, to which she responded with an innocent look, shaking her head subtly as though she were asking the other girl if there was something wrong. "Why can't you just be nice and complacent?"

Annie couldn't help the wide grin that overtook her expression at Lydia's tired tone. "Cause that'd undo years of both civil _and_ women's rights. Stick it to the man, Lydia, stick it to the man." She held her left hand up in a proud fist, making the girl blink at her and sigh with a roll of her eyes.

"Sarcasm is _not_ attractive, Annie."

"Oh, thank God. And here _I_ was thinking it was my _minor facial blemish_ that was turning people off from me, but it was just my _personality_ all along." She placed a hand on her heart, her lashing fluttering rapidly as she mock-sniffled, as though she were so touched by the revelation that she was about to cry. Lydia once again rolled her eyes and let out a soft sound annoyance, raising a hand to push Annie towards the stands.

The curly haired girl laughed and gave a casual shrug, turning her head slightly to talk over her shoulder. "I told you, I hate contact sports." She said like it was all that was needed to explain her behavior.

Lydia simply kept her hand at the small of Annie's back, pushing a little harder as they situated themselves on the bleachers. "You're seriously in the wrong town." Lydia said, finally sitting down, prompting her to do the same.

"Preachin' to the choir, honey." Annie muttered in return, looking up as Allison filed into the stand, popcorn in her hands, her father right beside her. Offering up a smile to the two Argents, Annie quickly furrowed her brows, becoming distracted as Lydia shoved her own poster into Annie's hands and quickly hopped down the bleachers.

"What was _that_ about?" Allison leaned over to ask.

Annie shrugged and stood up slightly to try and get a visual on Lydia. "I've stopped asking that question when it comes to Lydia. The girl does what the girl wants." She pursed her lips, quickly finding the redhead. She frowned as she watched Lydia draw Scott close, and then brush off his jersey as though there was dirt on it.

The sound of a loud whistle sent a jolt of energy through the crowd, loud cheers beginning to permeate the air. The two teams ran out on the field, assuming their positions. The game began with another blow of the ref's whistle and it began _fast_. It was nothing like any of the practices she had seen, and those had been nothing short of rigorous. _This_ had a different air about it, the competitiveness filling the field and reaching the bleachers with a toxic sort of contagiousness.

She was wrenched violently out of the moment at seeing Jackson violently shoulder check number eleven, watching as Scott tumbled to the ground as Jackson continued on to score the first goal of the game. She had never wanted to strangle Lydia's boyfriend as much as she did in that moment, there was absolutely _no way_ something like that wouldn't set Scott off. _Especially_ if he was already hyped up on adrenaline and male ego.

Annie frowned as she saw Scott look up at them, swearing under her breath as she realized what it looked like from his point of view. Seeing Allison holding up the _We Luv Jackson_ sign just after he was robbed of a play _by_ Jackson, probably didn't settle very well with him.

She slowly reached up to her neck, her fingers feeling down the silver chain that hung at her clavicle, the necklace plunging down past the neckline of her shirt. Clutching the chain, she lifted the necklace up, revealing an intricately decorated opaque vial. Annie never liked going anywhere without it, not only because she had formed a sentimental attachment to the necklace that had once been her paternal grandmother's, but also because of the fact that it held a decent amount of mountain ash, enough for her to use and manipulate if the situation really called for it.

Annie didn't know what to do. There were _way_ too many people that if Scott lost control, there was no way she'd be able to draw a mountain ash line without people seeing her and _freaking out_. Granted, if Scott lost control, a girl playing with some magic ash would probably be the very last thing on people's minds. But when it came down to it would she be able to push herself to jump down to the field and do what she had been instructed to do since she could even understand the words _mountain ash_? She hadn't always been so cautious and wary to jump in right into the action, but werewolves had left the bitter taste of blood in her mouth and she was unwilling to put herself in that kind of danger again.

But at what cost? Would she be able to run away while innocent humans were being ravaged by an out of control werebeast?

"Which one is Scott again?" Mr. Argent's deep voice cut through Annie's mental panic, Lydia immediately jumping at the chance to answer.

"Number eleven. Otherwise known as the only one who hasn't caught a single _ball_ this entire game." She snarked, keeping her gaze firmly fixed on the field. Annie found herself mimicking Lydia in that aspect, one hand clutching tightly around her vial while the other held the poster she made loosely. Her toe tapped anxiously as she watched the teams arrange themselves in their formations. Scott was bent over, large clouds of his condensed breath rising from his helmet, indicating that he was breathing hard.

"I hope he's okay." Allison spoke softly, drawing her hand away from her mouth as she watched Scott nervously.

"I hope _we're_ okay." Annie and Lydia spoke at the same time, but their tones were _vastly_ different. Lydia's gaze was trained on the scoreboard, the bright, glaring numbers proudly displaying that _GUEST_ had earned five points while _HOME_ had a measly three. Annie's anxiety was beginning to rise to concerning levels, though. Worst case scenarios began to flood into her mind, just as they had done when she and Allison had hitched a ride with Derek, her leg bouncing rapidly as she tried to just _do_ something with the energy filling her veins.

What if Scott lost control? Who would get hurt? Who would get _killed_? Not to mention the fact that half the town was out here tonight. To have him shift in front of _all_ these people would start a cascade of things she most certainly did _not_ sign up for.

Her anxious thoughts of gruesome conclusions were rudely interrupted by Lydia's exasperated sigh. "We need to win this." She muttered, standing up, holding the large sign. Looking down, she raised an eyebrow at the two girls. "A little help here?" Annie simply shook her head, one hand still clutching her necklace while the other held her own poster. Lydia made a clearly annoyed sound at the back of her throat before turning to the other brunette.

Allison stared up at Lydia, slight irritation in her eyes as she raised a hand to scratch at her forehead. But before long, she stood up, her jaw set as she lazily raised the large poster, a disgruntled expression on her features. Annie turned back to look at the field, flinching as the sharp sound of the whistle cut through the cold night air. She stood up abruptly, trying to get a better view as the players began moving, her heart feeling as though it was about to beat out of her chest.

Jackson and the opposing player pushed against one another before the ball was flung up in the air, causing the two players to look up at the sky to spot it. But all her attention was on Scott, who quite _literally_ jumped at the chance to finally get the ball. He spotted it almost immediately, and without even thinking, he launched himself into the air, almost _flying_ over the two starting players and intercepting the ball before sprinting impossibly fast down the field.

He dodged player after player, his agility making the crowd around them _Ooh_ and _Ahh_ loudly, and not a moment later did Scott send the ball through the net, making the Beacon Hills High fans all go wild. The people around them all stood up at once in celebration, shoving Lydia and Annie, the only ones not excitedly reacting, into one another rather hard. Lydia huffed before beginning to clap politely, pressing her lips together as she peeked through the gap in the crowd to watch the field from her seated position.

Once again, the teams arranged themselves in their starting positions on the field and Annie watched on as though it was the most important thing in her life at that very moment. Biting her bottom lip hard, she tried to ease her heart rate. No one had gotten hurt yet, that was good. If Scott really was as uncontrollable as she was making him out to be in her own mind, then someone would be seriously injured by now. All she had to do was remind herself of that little fact, and things would be fine, right?

But then, the unthinkable happened. The other team just _passed_ to McCall. Blinking, she looked around trying to see whether other people had seen what she had. That had been a very _deliberate_ pass, "Did… that just happen?" Annie asked hesitantly, her eyes wide as they followed Scott once more sprinting down the field.

"Yeah! It did!" Allison cheered, a large, bright smile on her lips as she clapped in encouragement. Annie nodded slowly and continued watching, swallowing hard. He launched his stick forwards and once more got the ball in the goal, but Annie watched the goalie for a little longer, quickly catching onto what the referee was arguing with the coach about.

The ball had gone straight through the goalie's stick.

That must've taken an _insane_ amount of power behind that throw to have penetrated through. Her concern only grew as the team reset the formation, the sound of the whistle letting them loose. Scott was clearly disoriented this time around, his head twisting in every direction as he dealt with the sensory overload of the moment. Players from the opposing team surrounded him and she nearly jumped onto the field herself, her eyes wide and trained solely on the teenage werewolf currently losing control on the field. She had absolutely no idea what she would do if _actually_ followed through with that instinct, but whatever she did, she figured it would be ten times better than having a rogue were-creature on the loose with so many people out.

But right at the last second, it was like something clicked in him. He stood up straighter, no longer hunching over as though he were about to drop his lacrosse stick and start running on all fours. Twisting at his torso, he launched a shot forwards, the ball flying at an incredible speed, soaring past the goalie and straight into the net, giving Beacon Hills the final point and effectively giving them the win.

 _Oh, my God. We're alive._

She didn't realize she was cheering so loudly until Lydia turned to look at her in surprise. Annie slapped a surprised hand over her mouth, cutting off the excited, celebratory scream. The other girl raised her brows at Annie, giving her a little smirk to which Annie responded with a sheepish smile. She shoved her poster into Lydia's hands, ignoring her call of irritation as she jumped down the stands, leaving Lydia to do whatever she wanted then, probably to find her boyfriend.

The dark haired girl quickly spotted Allison, who had been one of the first to hop off the bleachers and run onto the field. Annie followed her quickly, dodging the other excited fans as she tried to reach her. But Allison was distracted, her head looking left and right as she tried to find Scott on the field. Just before she could reach her, Allison began walking off, a determination in her step. Annie only shifted her gaze forwards a bit, her panic settling back in as she saw Scott's form sprinting back in the direction of the school.

Maybe they weren't as alright as she first thought, and Allison was _running_ right to the source of their troubles.

Swearing under her breath, Annie looked around the field feeling completely overwhelmed by her surroundings and the situation. Eyes widening in a panic, her breathing began to quicken as her mind began speeding through scenarios of things that could go wrong. Fight or flight started to take a hold of her rational mind, the latter response winning out above all.

What the _hell_ was she supposed to do?

She let out a cry of irritation as she felt someone run directly past her, slamming hard into her right shoulder, but before she could let her emotions bubble over into snapping at the person, she quickly realized that it was _Stiles_ and he was running frantically after Allison. _Well_ , more accurately, he was probably running frantically after _Scott_ before he could _do_ anything to Allison.

Two humans. Two humans and a werewolf who was _definitely_ losing control. Could she let the same fate that befell her settle down on one of them? Could she live with herself if something happened to them?

She couldn't even live with herself _now_.

Clenching her jaw, she forced her emotions down, the panic, while seemingly very much embedded into the fibers of her inner being, was immediately erased from her expression, instead replaced by steely resolve and determination. She could freak out later, she had two people to worry about more than her impending mental breakdown.

Her parents had instilled in her a sense of _duty_ , a love for _life_ and she would be doing them a disservice, she would be doing nothing short of just straight up _disrespecting_ the both of them if she just walked away knowing she perhaps had a chance to help humans in need.

Inhaling deeply, she secured her bag against her side before beginning to run in the direction the three objects of her concern had launched themselves into. She sprinted as fast as she could to the school, ignoring the uncomfortable twinging at her bad shoulder as her arms moved back and forth to keep her balance.

Bursting through the school doors, the sound of her heels against the linoleum and her heavy breathing almost _echoed_ back at her in the halls. Spotting a red jersey just turning the corner, she pushed herself forward, taking the same turn as Stiles, eventually running through the open door into the locker room.

Before she could walk deeper into the locker room, she felt hands grab her by the waist and drag her back unceremoniously, scaring the ever living _shit_ out of her. Whipping around, she let her hand fly forward in a fist, making direct contact with a torso. Stiles doubled over, his face screwed up in pain, eyes wide as he looked at her with an expression that very clearly asked _'What the hell?'_

Pointing at him with narrowed eyes, she clenched her jaw. "You touch me like that again and I'll bitch slap the moles off your fucking _face_." She hissed, moving her hand to rest over her heart, feeling as though the organ was about to beat out of her chest. He gave her a dirty look, his hand rubbing lightly at the middle of his torso where her fist had hit.

"I just saved you from interrupting a moment of _historical_ proportion, which Scott would _literally_ kill you for messing up." He hissed back at her. Frowning, she turned away from him, peeking past the set of lockers they were hidden behind, only to reveal a human Scott, or at least Scott in his _human_ form, and Allison locking lips quite firmly. Exhaling, she turned back to Stiles who gave her look that plainly said ' _I told you so_.'

Looks like she _highly_ underestimated McCall's ability to control himself.

The two of them leaned forward slightly, gazing at their two respective friends before the two broke apart, Allison giving a light laugh and a bright smile. "I gotta get back to my dad." She said to him, her smile growing as he looked at her with a happily dazed expression, nodding at her words. She leaned in and gave him a sweet kiss to the cheek before beginning to make her way out of the locker room, stopping in her tracks as she made eye contact with Annie and Stiles, both of whom were trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible, and failing horribly considering they were the only ones in the room with her and Scott.

"Stiles… Annie…" She greeted, a huge grin on her face as she continued on her way out. Stiles lifted a hand in a half-wave, a quick " _Hey, yeah-"_ and a polite smile before it dropped as he began walking towards Scott. Annie rubbed her forehead before backing away from the lacrosse players, turning to leave the locker room with her hands shoved into her coat pockets. Stopping right out of the door, she lingered out of sight, cementing once more the fact that she was creating a bad habit of eavesdropping on these two.

"I kissed her." Came Scott's dazed voice, hints of his smile shining through in his tone.

Stiles let out a little laugh, "I _saw_."

" _She_ kissed _me_."

"Saw that too… Pretty good, huh?" Stiles asked his best friend.

Annie strained to hear the rest of the conversation as they dropped their voices slowly, but even from her distance, she could hear Scott's loud sigh of relief. "I-I-I don't know _how_ , but I _controlled_ it. I pulled it back."

Looking down at her boot-clad feet, Annie bit her bottom lip before beginning to walk away from the door, picking up her pace to catch up to Allison who had a head start on her.

Maybe she _had_ overreacted a lot. Not all werewolves were the same, after all. That would have been a terribly bigoted way to think about things, and if she hated _anything_ in the world, it was a _bigot_. The little, self-preserving voice in her head spoke up in defense. Yeah, sure, Scott turned out to be able to calm down significantly on his own, but what if he _hadn't_ been able to. There was always that little _what-if_ scenario that burned at the back of her mind.

There was no denying that they had _all_ gotten lucky tonight, but if Scott was going to insist on his continuation of playing the violent sport (and she was sure _everyone else_ would want him to, considering how well he had played tonight), then he _needed_ to find a way to stay calm despite the adrenaline-inducing activity.

Crossing her arms in a semblance of a stabilizing hug, she finally caught up with Allison back out on the field. For now, she was perfectly happy with just trying to freaking _relax_ and push the thoughts of shifting werewolves to the deepest recesses of her mind. Allison happened to turn her head and spot Annie in her periphery.

Almost immediately, her soft, absent-minded smile seemed to grow tenfold in that moment. Rushing towards her, Allison stretched out her hands, prompting Annie to uncross her arms and free up her own as Allison reached out and held her hands as she seemed to bounce in place.

Squeezing Annie's hands lightly, Allison looked at her with bright eyes. "Did you see that?"

"It was hard not to." Annie answered, raising her brows at the girl but being unable to keep the little smile off of her lips at Allison's excitement.

Allison stopped bouncing as she tilted her head and looked at her with an amused smile of her own. "What were you and Stiles doing there anyway?"

Annie gave a dismissive half-shrug. "Lydia ditched me for her boy toy and I saw you walking towards the school and honestly I just really hate crowds so I was gonna just meet up with you." The lie flowed a little too easily from her lips, but she didn't feel any regret about it. If anything she felt _proud_ of herself for being able to push away any obvious signs of anxiety so that Allison wasn't able to tell that she had been on the verge of a complete and total breakdown.

"But then I ran into Stiles and I figured if he was there then _Scott_ would be there. And if _Scott_ was there then that's probably where you were. I was right." She said slyly, quickly trying to get the focus off of her and back to her.

Allison looked at her shyly, her smile still firmly in place, and it didn't seem like it was going anywhere anytime soon. "I don't think I've been as happy as I am right now."

The curly haired girl tried as hard as she could to push her pessimism into the background. Allison didn't need her cynicism right now, it wouldn't be fair to her, not after she had just admitted to her that she was so _happy_. "Well, I'm really happy for you." She settled with, squeezing Allison's hands just as the girl had done to her only moments before.

Allison leaned forwards and gave her a quick hug before bounding away, resuming the search for her father and leaving Annie standing at the edge of the field, concern, and anxiety slowly dripping back into her features as all thoughts she forced down before began flooding back with a vengeance. Allison's life was about to get ridiculously complicated if she insisted on seeing her werewolf boyfriend. Which she undoubtedly _would,_ considering she had no idea he was a _werewolf_.

 _Everyone's_ lives were about to get ridiculously complicated.

* * *

Dinner was usually an uncomplicated affair. The two of them seemed to have inherited the same habit of eating late dinners, which worked out _marvelously_ for them. Of course, Alan had to adjust slightly to accommodate her diet choices as a vegetarian, but he didn't quite mind it as much as she had been afraid he would. He was long used to it considering her mother had become one early in her teens while joining Marin on the dietary change. The routine they had fallen into happened faster than anyone could predict like they had been doing the same thing for _years_. It was little things like that that just had her _so_ thankful for her uncle.

Without any protest, the two of them took turns making dinner, and quite luckily for her, it was _his_ night to cook dinner. She was just so distracted by her whirlwind-like thoughts that she genuinely believed she would have run the risk of burning down the house if she were in charge of working with the stove.

The bad thing about it, though, was the fact that her uncle could spot her preoccupation a mile away.

They sat facing one another at the small, wooden dinner table, digging into a meal of hearty rice and an assortment of vegetables. "So, how was the game?" He asked curiously before scooping up some rice.

Reaching for her glass of water, she wrinkled her nose. "One of the most stressful experiences of my _entire_ life." She answered, bringing up the glass to her lips and taking a quick sip before setting it back down beside her plate.

He raised an eyebrow, the question clear on his expression as he chewed.

Annie hesitated. Did she want to speak frankly to him about Scott's latest transformation from human to a non-human? There was absolutely _no_ way that Alan didn't already know. Not only was he much more observant and experienced as a druid than she was, but it wasn't like Scott was doing a terribly _great_ job at hiding that there was something weird going on with him. Alan probably caught on within the first couple of days of observing Scott's behavior.

"Scott came really close to losing control tonight." She found herself saying before shoving rice into her mouth as a way to give herself some more time to think about how she wanted the conversation to go. Alan had once been an emissary and while he wasn't as consumed by the supernatural world as he had once been, there _had_ to be something _he_ could do.

'Cause God knew that she certainly wasn't in a place to do _shit_.

Alan inclined his head, the interest in his eyes clear, but it was obvious he was trying to keep it subdued. "Really close? Which means ultimately he didn't fully shift." He pointed out.

Shaking her head, she looked down at her plate as she lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "Yeah, but… still. Bit of a concern. I don't think he knows what he's doing." She looked up, unease obviously displayed in her features. "Like, _at all_." She added for emphasis.

Nodding slowly, he gave her a subtle look, "Sounds like he could use some guidance from someone he knows." He said nonchalantly as he began eating again.

Annie narrowed her eyes at him and placed her fork down on her plate. "It's a good thing he already thinks of you as a mentor." She countered, a sarcastic smile on her lips as she folded her hands under her chin, tilting her head slightly.

"For all things _veterinary._ " He pointed out, a hand rising to cover his mouth as he finished chewing his food.

She removed her hands from under her chin as she leaned back in her chair, her hand rising to wave vaguely, as though to wave away his argument. "Were _wolves_. Half animal. Still in your jurisdiction." She pointed at him.

Alan sat up and leaned slightly forward, a challenging looking his eye. "I'm retired." He answered.

"And _I'm_ emotionally unstable." She retorted, crossing her arms, the urge to stick her tongue out becoming overwhelmingly hard to resist.

Sighing, he mimicked her earlier motion, placing his fork down on his plate before folding his hands together in front of him. "Clearly we have some differences of opinion, so why don't we agree on the fact that Scott needs a pair of eyes on him." She opened her mouth to speak but shut it when Alan shook his head. "There's no need for you to meddle, I know you don't want to. But you have the privilege of knowing what's happening. Even Scott, who is experiencing this, has next to no idea when compared to you." She hung her head at his reasonable response.

His gaze softened as he looked at the young girl. "Keep an eye on the situation. If things escalate, let me know. Don't worry." He conceded, offering a smile as he watched her lift her head slightly. She looked at him tentatively before offering a small half-smile and a nod in response.

Silence settled over them like a blanket as the two of them resumed dinner, the sounds of silverware hitting ceramic, chewing, and breathing being the only thing that filled the air. Dinner was completed silently and since Alan had cooked, it fell on her to clean up. Which she didn't quite mind. If nothing else, it gave her a chance to just absentmindedly think through the mess that her life had become. Alan retreated to his office as she made her way through washing the dishes, dealing with the mess of thoughts rushing through her head as she worried her bottom lip with her teeth.

There were so many things at war in her mind. Her desire to protect herself by avoiding anything that resembled the supernatural was at the forefront of her desires, but then there was everything she had grown up believing and _doing_. From birth, it seemed like it was determined that this life would be _hers_ whether she wanted it or not. Of course, her parents had made it very clear that if she didn't want any part of it, that she could pull away at any time she wanted. But… she _couldn't_. It was the sort of thing that just drew you in, for better or worse.

And draw her in it _certainly_ did.

Even now, when she felt such a visceral instinct to protect herself by keeping out of this mess, she felt the situation grab at her with sneaky tendrils, unwilling to give her up so easily.

But maybe it was even _more_ complicated than that. It wasn't just outside factors roping her back into a life of danger and uncertainty. It was _her_. From her bad habit of eavesdropping and the deep-rooted inclination to help those who needed it, to her family history of simply being _known_ for being heavily involved in the lives of werecreatures. It was all just a recipe for a _spectacular_ disaster.

Placing the last dish on the drying rack, she turned and reached for the towel draped over the oven's handle. She dried her hands quickly before making her way to her room, shutting off the lights to the kitchen on her way out. As she climbed the stairs and retired to her room, walking over to her dresser to begin the laborious task of taking her contacts out and beginning her nightly routine, she forced herself to look at her reflection.

"Things are gonna be fine." She whispered, her gaze flickering slightly to stare at her scar. She was scared, _terrified_ really, of all that she was hearing and noticing. Dead bodies? Werewolves? If Scott was a beta, that meant his alpha was lurking about somewhere. Perhaps there was even a whole pack of them, and she was being sucked into all of this in such a way that didn't leave her with many choices to ignore it all.

 _Well_ , she _could_ , but she'd truly be a straight up ass if she ignored the safety of other people for her own sake.

Blinking, she made quick work of removing her contacts and placing them in disinfecting solution. She quickly changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top before grabbing her thick-framed glasses off her dresser and launching herself onto her bed. Settling down to finish up some of her homework, she reveled in the feeling of being a simple, normal teenager. The unsettling in the pit of her stomach could have easily been due to her general anxiety about her position in the situation she was in, but it was like something was telling her to enjoy the few moments of normalcy she had left.

She had strong feeling it wouldn't last very long.


	4. Pack Mentality

The sound of a blaring alarm sent a shock of panic through her body, prompting her to snap her eyes open. Groaning loudly, Annie leaned over and swiped at her phone screen, the alarm shut off immediately. She stayed lying in bed for several more minutes, staring up at the blurred ceiling. Gathering as much motivation to move as she could, she clumsily felt for her glasses on her bedside table, slipping them on her face as she sat up.

Blinking groggily, she sighed before moving to start her morning routine. Removing the wrap from her head, she shook her slightly damp hair out and got set to run on autopilot until she had to go to school. Annie had always been one for routines. Of course, with a life like hers, she had to adaptable and flexible for any _unforeseen_ circumstances, but that didn't mean she couldn't just try to make several " _just in case_ " plans. She already had the bad habit of thinking about worst case scenarios, why not just channel that into _preparedness_?

Although, it _did_ look like her bad habit of coming up with an obscene amount of hypothetical situations would come in handy with what was happening in town.

Annie popped her second contact in before blinking with a grimace. Looking back at her reflection, she sighed and reached up to tuck several stubborn hairs back into the braided crown that had taken her _way_ too long to wrestle with that morning. Since school had started, she had rarely worn her hair up, preferring to keep a semblance of a curtain near her face should she want to _hide_. Tilting her head a certain way seemed infinitely easier than having to look someone in the eye or take notice of anyone looking at her.

 _But_ , she came here to start over and she was fully aware of the fact that she wasn't exactly _branching out_ socially. She was _fully aware_ that she wasn't actively trying to change her life, but rather just… _sitting_ in the present moment. Doing something as simple as fully displaying her face was _huge_ in her eyes, and maybe if she did something as uncomfortable like this, she'd be more open to making _other_ changes.

It had actually been something Lydia had said to her offhandedly one day that inspired her to start taking control of her life, rather than simply taking a back seat to random events. If she couldn't do anything else, she could at least try to fake it until she made it.

 _Baby steps, Emery_.

Inhaling deeply, she held her breath for a moment before exhaling slowly. Backing away from her mirror, she walked over to her closet and grabbed a long-sleeved, gray blouse and a pair of jeans. Pulling everything on, she finished up her outfit with a pair of rare flats, figuring that if she was putting this much effort into her appearance, letting herself be entirely comfortable would be called for. Throwing her books into her bag, she grabbed her phone and made her way downstairs.

"-and I'm sure Sacramento will have many more resources, but my door will be open." Alan's voice echoed through the hall, letting her eavesdrop on his side of the conversation.

Annie gave her uncle a curious look as she walked into the kitchen and sat down across from him, reaching over to grab an apple from the fruit bowl in the center of the table. She raised her eyebrows at him as he finished up the call and set his cell phone down on the table, his hand reaching out to close the laptop set in front of him, his expression giving her the impression that he was suddenly very tired.

"What's wrong? Who was that?"

"Sheriff Stilinski." Came the unexpected answer. Her brows raised in curiosity. There was no way the man wasn't related to Stiles, it wasn't like that was a particularly _common_ surname. But that wasn't the thing that piqued her interest. Why would the county sheriff call _Alan_? Annie gave him a questioning look, one that seemed hesitant to address.

Sighing, he gave in, rubbing at his forehead. "He wants me to be a consultant about the _mountain lion_ issue we seem to be having."

Annie leaned back in her chair. " _Ah_ , so mountain lion is what they're going with? Isn't this like… the bear state? Y'all don't have bears?" She asked before biting into the apple in her hand.

Alan rolled his eyes at his niece and lifted his coffee mug to his lips. "It's not like I had a say in the matter. Last I checked, I wasn't the leading voice in covering up supernatural activity." He said before taking a long sip from the cup.

Annie grinned back at him, quickly swallowing and lifting a finger to point at him. "Oh, but you _should_ be. You'd do a _fantastic_ job lying to the general public." She gave a cheeky wink before turning her gaze to the mug he had lowered back down. "There's more of that, right?" He simply nodded his head in the direction of the coffee pot and she let out a sigh of relief as she stood up, as though he had given her the best news possible.

"You're addicted." He called after her, watching her walk towards the pot of coffee.

"The sky is blue. We need oxygen. Werewolves bite… Oh, I'm sorry, I thought we were just listing pointless, obvious facts we can't change." She responded, her tone pleasant despite the sarcastic bite to her words. Filling up her usual travel mug with the dark, life-saving liquid, she mixed in some sugar and capped it up.

"I don't remember either of your parents being this sarcastic."

The mention of her parents made her turn around to face him with narrowed eyes and pursed lips. "No, but I hear _you_ were a little shit when you were younger. That must be where I got it." Alan licked his lips in an attempt to hide the smile that threatened to overtake his expression and instead shook his head before turning back and busied himself with his laptop.

A silence settled on the kitchen as the two preoccupied themselves for several minutes, with Alan finishing his cup and replying to emails while Annie quickly devoured the rest of her apple. She shifted her gaze towards the neon digital clock on the microwave and with a long, drawn-out sigh, she grabbed her coffee and walked back towards the kitchen table. "I better get going, Lydia asked me to pick up some coffee for her from some café downtown." She explained to her uncle as she bent down to gather her bag.

Looking up from the screen of his computer, Alan gave her a sly smile, "Did she not like the coffee you made her the other day?"

Annie frowned as she lifted her hand to her chest in defense. "Look, the girl needs like, four flavor shots and more sugar than _I_ put into my coffee. It's unnatural and I absolutely _refuse_ to concoct such an abomination." She shook her head, slinging her bag over her shoulder and turning to leave, reaching into the bag to draw out her keys.

* * *

"Annie! Annie!"

Hearing her name being shouted with such panic made her, admittedly, over-react. Jumping in alarm, she swore loudly as some coffee from her travel mug splashed over her hands. Luckily, she had dodged out of the way in time to save her outfit. Swearing loudly, she shifted the mug to her right hand as she shook out her left one, trying to get the hot liquid off.

Turning slightly, she was suddenly met with Scott's panicked face right in front of her, making her flinch in alarm once more. "Woah, calm down, McCall. What's up?" She asked pure concern in her voice at seeing him so freaked out.

"H-have you seen Allison? _Please_ tell me you've seen her." His eyes were wide, and his usually tan skin had a sickly pallor to it. Frowning she shook her head as she turned slightly to look at him directly.

"Sorry, I just got to school a couple of minutes ago, I haven't had a chance to really see anyone yet."

He visibly deflated in disappointment, but there was something else in his expression. This was much more than a guy missing his girlfriend. He looked genuinely _afraid_ , and with what was happening in town, specifically surrounding _Scott_ , her mind immediately began jumping to the worst conclusions she could come up with.

"Scott? What's wrong?" She demanded, her voice making the sudden transition from soft concern to hard suspicion. Scott obviously picked up on the change in her vocal tone and looking at the short girl's defensive, suspicious eyes and tense frame, and he couldn't help but remember what Stiles had said to him about her acting _weird_.

"Nothing… Nothing's wrong." He muttered before turning to walk away. Annie clenched her jaw, her mind still filling rapidly with worst-case scenarios involving Allison. Her left hand shot out to grab his wrist before he could completely walk away.

"Scott." She called sharply.

The werewolf whipped around and grabbed her wrist hard with his other hand, wrenching her hand off his own wrist, anger, and anxiety clear in his eyes. She couldn't help the step back she took as she moved her arm up to cradle it against her chest protectively, her wrist aching from his tight grip.

Regret flashed in his eyes as he muttered a soft apology and continued on his way, whipping around and sprinting down the hall, presumably to continue his search for Allison. Her brows furrowed as her eyes followed his retreating figure. She got so caught up in her thoughts and the sudden loud _bang_ of something hitting metal in the distance, that she didn't hear the tell-tale sound of approaching heels.

"You, my friend, look absolutely _adorable_." Lydia's drawling voice caught her off guard. Annie jumped in alarm, having been so focused in on watching Scott that she hadn't noticed that Lydia came up behind her. Once again, she swore loudly at the feeling of hot coffee spilling over her other hand. As she shook her hand out, she turned around with a weak smile on her face.

"Wow, makeup and no heels? What's the occasion?" She teased, watching Annie deal with the spilled coffee on her hand. Annie rolled her eyes and wordlessly reached into her locker, taking out the paper cup filled with Lydia's requested coffee. Lydia accepted it with a gracious smile and followed Annie as she shut her locker and began walking towards her homeroom.

"No occasion, I just-" Annie began, but the sound of the intercom crackling to life interrupted her and all movement by the students in the hall completely stopped as a voice rang through the school.

" _Attention, Students. This is your principal. I know you're all wondering about the incident that occurred last night to one of our buses. But while the police work to determine what happened, classes will proceed as scheduled. Thank you."_

"That seems like a questionable judgment call if the _police_ are here." She said over the sound of the surrounding students' unified groan. She turned slightly to look at Lydia with a worried look. "What happened?"

Lydia looked at her in surprise. "You didn't see the complete _massacre_ out back?"

The word _massacre_ hit a deep nerve, but nevertheless, she pushed her feelings aside by clearing her throat and shaking her head in response. "I parked in the front lot and came in straight from there." She explained, leading Lydia to answer with an understanding nod.

"We don't know what happened, I mean, I don't even think the police know exactly what the deal is, but this one bus is completely torn apart and covered in _blood_." She finished her sentence with a look of deep disgust. She shivered dramatically and shook her head. "I don't even want to _think_ about it." She said before smiling at Annie.

" _Well_ , we should be getting to homeroom, so I'll see you in Bio." And with that Lydia walked past her, carefully curled ringlets bouncing behind her. Annie sighed before continuing on, turning the corner and seeing Jackson struggling with the door to his locker, the imprint of a fist clearly indented in the metal. Quickly averting her eyes from the seething Jackson, she hurried to her homeroom.

So much for trying to be more _careful_ about what they did and said.

Annie sat in class, clutching her pen tightly and holding herself back from slapping the two idiots sitting in front of her upside their heads. There was a chance that, even if someone could hear what they were saying, they wouldn't give much attention to what the two weirdos in the back of Chem class were actually talking about. _But_ perhaps they _would_. There was always a risk of someone overhearing.

 _Like she was currently doing right now_.

" _Raw_?" Came Scott's hushed question.

"No, you stopped to bake it in a little werewolf oven. I dunno, _you're_ the one who can't remember anything." Stiles hissed back, sarcasm practically dripping off each word.

Mr. Harris, turned around, irritation clear on his face as he looked at the two teens. "Mr. Stilinski, if that's your idea of a hushed whisper, you might want to pull the headphones out every once in a while." Annie pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh. That was one way to to get the two to stop talking about something so sensitive during such an inopportune time. "I think you and Mr. McCall would benefit from a little distance, yes?"

"No." He answered immediately, sitting up slightly. Harris only raised a hand and pointed towards the empty seat beside her, indicating to the boys to move.

"Let me know if the separation anxiety gets to be too much."

Stiles let out a sarcastic laugh before rolling his eyes and unceremoniously dropping his things next to her, one of his books falling into her space, making her shoot him an irritated look.

Turning back down to her notebook, she shoved his textbook closer to him as he sat down. "McCall doesn't seem like the type to bake." She whispered out of the corner of her mouth, keeping her gaze down at her notebook, absentmindedly tracing over the triquetra knot she had drawn at the corner of the page.

" _What_?" He choked out, his neck making a loud cracking sound as he whipped his head to the side to look at her, his hand flying up to rub at the place the cracking had come from.

"You said something about an oven, didn't you?" She asked, the innocence being laid on so thick that it completely negated the fact that she was trying to _be_ innocent. "Harris is right, y'all need to work on your whispering. Never know what people might overhear." She shrugged casually, finally looking up from her doodle.

He gave her a troubled look, his eyes wide and suspicious as he pressed his lips tightly together. Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask her something, their classmate's voice rang out in nervous excitement.

"Hey, I think they found something!"

Immediately, all the students stood up and rushed to the windows, Annie finding a place directly in front of one. Standing on the tips of her toes, she felt Stiles and Scott come up behind her.

"That's not a rabbit." Scott whispered in horror.

Paramedics were quickly escorting the bloodied up form of someone on a stretcher, making her grimace in sympathy for the poor man, a thick silence settling over the students.

" _Ahh_!" The man sat up abruptly with a loud yell.

The classroom collectively let out a scream as they all jumped away from the windows in alarm. Annie placed a hand over her racing heart before leaning forwards, squinting to try and better see the man on the stretcher. His face was covered in blood, and while she couldn't quite see from her position, she was sure that he had lacerations all over his body.

Turning around, she saw Scott and Stiles whispering to each other away from the group, Scott looking extremely distressed and Stiles trying to placate his friend. Looking back through the window, Annie clenched her jaw, hoping for Scott's sake that this wasn't his doing.

* * *

Annie found herself cruising on autopilot until lunch came around. Getting her usual selection of salad, an apple, and some water, she caught up to where Allison and Lydia were standing and talking with Lydia's usual group of friends, catching the tail end of what Allison was saying.

"-sit with Scott today."

"Oh! Great idea! Let's go." Lydia sauntered forward, leading the whole group towards Scott and Stiles' empty table. Allison bit her lip as she gave a worried look to Annie, who simply shrugged in response.

Giving Allison a sympathetic look, she nodded her heads towards Lydia who was nearing the table. "She'll eat them alive if we're not there." Allison let out a soft sigh and only responded by following after Lydia, prompting Annie to do the same.

She reached the table just in time to hear Scott's excuse for whatever they had been talking about. "Just- uh, just homework." Stiles seemed completely breathless, unable to come up with anything more intelligible than, "Yeah."

"Why's she sitting with us?" Stilinski whispered loudly. Annie startled him by slamming her tray down on the table beside him, pulling out the chair and claiming it for herself.

"Good question." She stage whispered back to him. The group all slid into the free chairs, Danny taking the other seat beside Stiles, with Allison and Lydia claiming the seats beside Scott.

"Get up." Jackson strode over, the command coming from his mouth almost naturally.

His friend groaned and looked up at him in irritation. "Why don't you ever ask _Danny_ to get up?" He gestured to the guy on his left.

Danny immediately retorted with a small grin."'Cause _I_ don't stare at his girlfriend's coin slot."

Jackson only shoved his friend out of the seat, forcing him to walk over and take the empty one on Annie's left.

"So, I hear they're saying it's some type of animal attack. Probably a cougar?" Danny asked, taking it upon himself to supply the conversation.

Jackson shrugged. "I heard mountain lion." He countered.

Lydia rolled her eyes and gave a slight shake of her head. "A cougar _is_ a mountain lion." She said, right before catching herself. "Isn't it?" She suddenly asked, tilting her head and looking at Jackson. Annie grimaced at the light, vapid tone she had used. Lydia was _so_ careful with hiding just how smart she was that it nearly got on Annie's nerves. She was sure Lydia had her own reasons for her actions, the girl _always_ had a reason for her actions, but that didn't mean that Annie understood them anymore, or that she _liked_ the fact that she hid how smart she was.

"Who cares? The guy's probably some homeless tweaker who's gonna die anyway."

Annie's jaw dropped slightly at the complete apathy coming from Jackson. She knew the guy was shallow sometimes in addition to being the textbook definition of a high school jock, but she figured that there _had_ to be a part of him that showed some _shred_ of human decency. "The concern you hold for your fellow human being _truly_ fills me with hope for the future, Whittemore." She drawled, shooting him a dirty look.

Jackson simply rolled his eyes at her, but their attention was promptly diverted from each other when Stiles interrupted. "Actually, I just found out who it is." He said, looking up from his phone. "Check it out." He stretched out his hand holding his phone to the middle of the table, where everyone leaned forward to watch the video he had pulled up.

" _The Sheriff's department won't speculate on details of the incident but confirmed the victim, Garrison Meyers, did survive the attack. Meyers was taken to a local hospital where he remains in critical condition."_

"Wai-I-I _know_ this guy." Scott grabbed Stiles' phone and looked directly at his best friend as they all leaned back in their seats.

Allison gave him a sympathetic look. "You do?" She asked curiously.

He looked back down at the phone as he nodded. " _Yeah_ , when I used to take the bus, back when I lived with my dad. He was the driver." He looked up, concern shining in his eyes.

Lydia shook her head and sighed. "Can we talk about something slightly more _fun_ , please?" She pleaded. Immediately, she turned and looked at Allison. "Like, _oh_! Where are we going tomorrow night? You said you and Scott were hanging out tomorrow night, right?"

As Allison hurried to swallow the bite of lunch she had taken, Annie dug into her salad, buckling up for the undoubtedly awkward conversation that would follow. Judging by how taken aback Allison appeared, Annie could tell that the girl either didn't expect Lydia to either remember that little detail she shared about their plans or didn't expect her to bring it up like _this_.

"Um, we were thinking of what we were gonna _do_." Allison answered, looking at Scott for a moment before shifting her gaze back to Lydia. Scott himself looked slightly alarmed at the question.

Lydia ignored the feeling of slight panic and tension that was beginning to arise from the couple beside her and simply pressed on. " _Well_ , I am _not_ sitting home again watching lacrosse videos, so if the four of us _are_ hanging out, we are doing something _fun_." She declared.

"H-hanging out? Like, the four of us?" Scott asked, with wide eyes. Across from him, Stiles was shaking his head almost _aggressively_ , covering his full mouth with his hand as he squeezed his eyes shut.

Scott turned to Allison and dropped his voice. "Do you wanna hang out? Like us… and _them_?"

"Yeah, I guess. Sounds fun." She answered politely with a smile, looking at the other couple at the table.

Jackson smiled sarcastically as he looked back at Allison. "You know what else sounds fun? Stabbing myself in the face with this fork." He lifted the utensil and waved it around dramatically.

Annie lifted her own fork, pointing at him with a warning look. "Ooh, watch out, facial wounds aren't fun and bleed a lot."

An uncomfortable silence fell upon the group as Lydia reached over and aggressively grabbed the fork from Jackson's hand as she shot Annie an exasperated look. Annie pressed her lips together as she silently cursed herself for the bad attempt at humor and lowered her fork onto her tray. "That was a joke. You can laugh. _Haha_." She muttered before looking down at the phone in her lap, finding a message from Alan.

 _Can you come in today after school? Got a large shipment of supplies and it'd be great to have an extra pair of hands to stock back up._

"You know what? Actually, let's make this even better and just have _everyone_ come along!" Lydia grinned at them, resting her gaze on Annie's bent head. Busy with texting Alan back a reply, it took a moment for Annie to feel eyes on her. She looked up from her phone, "Sorry, what?" She asked, having clearly been distracted.

Lydia gave her a bright grin. "Tomorrow night. We should _all_ go out. It'll give us all a good chance to… _get to know_ each other."

Pressing her lips together, she shook her head. "Yeah… Uh- _hard_ no. I'm… not one to go out."

Lydia's grin dropped immediately and she looked at Annie with exasperation. "I don't have to point out how terribly _pathetic_ that sounds, right?"

"Nope, I was _definitely_ aware of it the moment it came out of my mouth." She sighed, leaving it at that. Just that morning she had expressed how much she wanted to take baby steps towards pushing the boundaries of her comfort zone. This would _probably_ be a good way to do just that.

"Good. So it's settled. Tomorrow night, Me and Jackson, Allison and Scott. You and… I could probably find a cute lacrosse player for you…" Lydia leaned in, her eyes lighting up with excitement at the very thought of setting Annie up with someone.

Annie grimaced and shook her head, letting her elbow fall on the table and raising her hand, her cheek coming into contact with her palm. She gave a light scoff. "From what I've seen? Not my type…" She said, lightly.

Lydia blinked before staring at her in silence for a moment, furrowing her brows as though she were trying to figure out a problem before realization crossed her features. "Oh… _oh_ , I know some _really_ cute cheerleaders…" She drawled coyly.

Annie sat up, an amused smile tugging at the corners of her lips. She let the hand supporting her head drop to the table, lazing pointing at her. "I mean, nice try, you're not _wrong_ but _also_ not my type…" Spotting Scott's confused gaze, she whipped around to look at him with a piercing look. "What?"

Not expecting to be called out like that, Scott floundered as Allison looked at Annie with a weary gaze."What uh- what _is_ your… _type_?" He winced at the question as soon as it came out of his mouth, and nearly took it back, but not before Annie could interrupt him.

"People who don't pry into my personal business." She said definitively with a deceivingly sweet smile. It was kind of rich that she was saying that to _Scott_ considering she had done nothing _but_ pry into the kid's personal business since school started, but she figured that she had a legitimate reason for doing so.

Her little smile dropped almost _immediately_ when Jackson's drawling voice broke into the conversation. "Chicks or dicks, Emery?" He pried, raising a brow as though challenging her last point.

Danny grimaced at his best friend's crassness. "Classy, Jackson…"

Annie seemed to puff up in irritation, narrowing her eyes and cocking her head to the side. "Well, newsflash _asshole_ , _bisexuals_ exist!" She said enthusiastically, as though she were introducing a novel invention. Danny kept his head bowed slightly, his mouth twisting as he tried to fight against the wide grin that threatened to take over his expression.

Shaking her head, she looked at Lydia directly, raising a hand and placing it next to her mouth, hiding it from Jackson's view. "I think the hair gel is seeping into his brain, it might be time to switch to the newest model of BoyToy, hope you kept the warranty."

Stiles choked on the generous gulp of water he had just taken, sputtering at Annie's words, unable to keep the gleeful look off his face at having witnessed Jackson be so blatantly taunted to his face like that. But in doing so, he attracted the attention of the whole table, drawing different reactions. Lydia stared at him, as though only just realizing he was at the table. Frowning she sighed laboriously. "I _guess_ you can come too." She eyed the pale boy in distaste before turning her gaze back to Annie. "I know I'm good, but I think it'll take a little longer to help set you up."

Annie groaned and leaned back in the plastic chair. "I don't _wanna_ be set up, Lydia. Don't be getting all into my personal business like that." She raised a hand to point at her scheming friend.

As Lydia opened her mouth to retort, their attention was once again drawn to Stiles who seemed to have trouble getting words out of his mouth. "M-me?" He coughed out a delayed reaction, still staring at Lydia with wide eyes. She once again gave him a distasteful look before ignoring his question and turning to her boyfriend.

"How 'bout bowling? You _love_ to bowl!" She suggested excitedly.

He could only scoff at the idea. "Yeah, with _actual_ competition."

Allison leaned forward and narrowed her eyes at Jackson. "How do you know we're not _actual_ competition?" She lifted her brows in a challenge. "You can bowl, right?" She turned her attention suddenly to Scott, whose eyes widened in alarm at the sudden question.

Annie sat back in her seat, looking back and forth between the members of the table. Scott looked like a deer caught in headlights while Jackson and Lydia looked on expectantly. Danny simply sat there, enjoying the show, not unlike her. But Stiles looked _extremely_ stressed out on Scott's behalf. With wide eyes, he stared at Scott for a moment before rolling them at his best friend's answer.

"Sort of." Came the unconvincing answer.

Jackson smirked at McCall. "Is it- is it _sort of_ , or yes?"

Scott clenched his jaw defensively as he sat up and leaned forwards. " _Yes_. In fact, I'm a _great_ bowler." He said, a conviction in his voice.

Annie turned slightly to see Stiles sink into his seat, exasperation clear in his expression, making her press her lips together in an attempt to keep herself from laughing. If nothing else, at least the night would undoubtedly end up _entertaining_.

* * *

Holding up a vial, Annie let out a low whistle. " _Diazepam_? Damn, Alan, how often do you prescribe Valium to your furry patients that you needed another stock to come in. Or maybe you're doing some selling on the side? You seem to be living well." She turned her head slightly to look at him with narrowed eyes filled with mock-suspicion.

He came up behind her and snatched it out of her hand with an eye roll, making her turn around fully and grin at him. "You're hilarious." He said dryly, watching as she leaned against the counter and crossed her arms.

"I'm so happy you thi-" The sound of the chimes at the front door followed by loud footsteps and heavy breathing effectively cut her off with Scott's voice ringing out not a moment later. "Sorry, sorry!" He apologized loudly, as his backpack slid off his shoulder.

Alan gave the young man a smile and shook his apologies away, looking over his shoulder as he picked up another box and brought it over to the counter closest to where Scott was dropping his bag onto the ground. "You're all of two minutes late." He soothed the frantic teen.

Scott turned to look at his boss with genuine concern. "I just don't want you to think I'm slacking."

"Scott, I guarantee you, you're one of the least slacking kids _in this town_." He picked up the box in his hands and turned to place it down beside her so that she could start restocking the cabinets before walking back to the main stack.

Annie twisted slightly so that she could face Scott, brows raised in innocent concern. "Are you feeling okay?" She asked, not missing the way her uncle's head rose and tilted slightly, as though his attention were piqued by the conversation that had just begun. Scott gave her an odd look before nodding slowly.

"Uh- yeah? Why?"

She shrugged before looking down at the box in front of her. "Oh, you just ran in here pretty fast. I remember over break you did something like that and had to use your inhaler." She could practically see Scott's mind beginning to whir to life, trying to come up with a passable excuse that would get off his back, but she didn't quite plan on stopping before he gave her an adequate excuse because she was _sure_ that his status as a severe asthmatic would be called into question _eventually_ and he needed to be ready with something more than _passable_. "But… I mean, you're a _star athlete_ now so things have evidently chan-"

"Annie, could you come help me get something out of the back room?" Alan's sharp voice cut through before she could finish her thought, making the two teens whip around to see the vet looking pleasantly at his niece. Pursing her lips, she narrowed her eyes at the man before giving him a forced smile and following him into the back, past the cages of the loudly meowing cats.

" _What_ , Alan?" She muttered, she tossed a look over her shoulder. Though she couldn't see Scott, she figured he would be trying his hardest to try and listen in on what they could be talking about. Although, she figured that was why Alan didn't take her to the front, at least they had the cats to mask some of the conversation.

"You're getting involved." It was a neutral statement. One without any hint of judgment or any kind of gloating. Just… an observation. Annie could do nothing but cross her arms and look down at her shoes, avoiding his eyes.

She shook her head and gave a half shrug, "I'm really _not_. Getting involved would mean telling him I know. I'm just… _insinuating_ … heavily." Glancing up slightly, she was met by Alan's ever neutral expression.

"What are you looking to gain from this?" He leaned against the wall as he looked down at her, his brow rising as he saw her shake her head once more.

" _Nothing_." She answered forcefully. "I'm just teaching him a lesson. He and _Idiot Number Two_ are going to blow the whole thing to the _entire_ school by the end of the semester, _if not earlier_ if they're not careful." She explained the slight panic at the very idea of the two teen boys doing so was _incredibly_ obvious in her voice.

She had always been taught that preserving the secret of the supernatural was one of the most important things to do as an emissary for a pack. It would, of course, be the pack's primary responsibility to care for their own and to make sure no one did something stupid and dangerous that would blow it for the rest of the pack. However, it would fall on the emissary to take things into their own hands if the situation called for it.

 _Surprise, Emery, but you're not an emissary._

The pesky little voice that had been the one to originally vow to stay out of it all chimed back in snidely and she pushed it away as fast as she could, unwilling to think about the fact that she was breaking her promise to herself. Technicalities were _great_ , but she couldn't keep relying on them. _Technically_ she wasn't in the thick of it, but if she wasn't careful toeing the line like this would certainly lead her down a path she'd eventually regret.

The corners of Alan's lips turned down into a soft frown as he tried to follow his niece's logic. "So…you're…"

She sighed and rolled her eyes, dropping her arms so that they hung by her sides."Just freaking them out enough for them to gain a little self-awareness. But _evidently,_ they've had several more hits to the skull than I thought." She mumbled under her breath, tossing another look behind her shoulder before shaking her head.

"We should get back to him, he'll get suspicious."

"More than he already is, you mean." Alan said pointedly, causing her to roll her eyes and nod silently. Nevertheless, he nodded and grabbed a random box to shove in her hands. "Stay consistent with your excuses." He reminded her as she gave him a look of confusion that soon transformed into realization as she remembered his excuse to get her to follow him in the first place.

They quickly returned to the examination room, find Scott significantly closer to the door than he had been when they left. He hovered over a box, trying to appear as though he was getting started on restocking. Before anyone could say anything, the door leading to the front of the clinic opened up, revealing a police officer with sunglasses on, holding on tightly to a leash and a large manila envelope with _EVIDENCE_ printed in a large, black font in his hands.

Alan grinned as he saw his newest patient. "Hey! I see somebody's ready to get their stitches out." He bent down, slapping his thighs to catch the dog's attention before picking it up and placing it on the examination table. Annie walked towards the boxes she had been working with before, the cabinets above them still wide open.

"Hey there, Scott, staying out of trouble?" The officer spoke up as he took his sunglasses off and tucked them into his jacket, smiling pleasantly at Scott.

The young werewolf nodded absentmindedly, "Yeah." He breathed.

As Alan picked up the police dog, placing him gently on top of the exam table, he paused a moment to gesture to Annie whose back was turned from them all. "Ah, Sheriff, this is my niece, Annie Emery. My sister's daughter." She whipped around at his introduction of her, a startled expression on her features, but it quickly transitioned into a polite smile when the officer- or rather the _Sheriff_ \- stretched out his hand in greeting.

"It's great to meet you." He said with a smile, giving her hand a firm shake. She nodded back in greeting, her lips shyly pressing together as she kept up the smile. He let go of her hand and immediately turned around to look at Alan who was busy examining the dog.

He brandished the manila envelope and held it out to the vet. "Hey, listen, while I'm here, you mind taking a look at those pictures I was telling you about? Sacramento still can't determine an animal."

Alan accepted the envelope, immediately reaching into whatever evidence was in it, but gave a warning to the other man."I'm not exactly an expert… This is the guy who was attacked on the bus?" He asked, wanting to clarify, but his question caused both Annie and Scott to lift their heads, the two teens giving each other looks of curiosity. Annie bent her head back down, not wanting to draw attention to herself and risk the sheriff to decide that he wanted to talk to Alan in a more secure location. That would only serve to effectively keep her curiosity unsatiated. Scott kept his gaze on the two men, enraptured by the conversation between the two professionals.

"Yeah… And we found wolf hairs on Laura Hale's body."

"A _wolf_?" Scott's incredulous voice broke through the serious discussion, making the two men turn to look at him.

Dear _God_ , Scott.

Annie lifted her head and twisted her body around, letting herself lean back against the counter as she crossed her arms as Scott scrambled to say something.

"Um- I mean, I think I read somewhere…" Alan looked up for just a moment, making eye contact with his niece, who only lifted her chin slightly in Scott's direction with a subtle expression that clearly said ' _See_ '. "...that wolves haven't been in California for, like, sixty years." Scott finished, trying to casually recover from his outburst as he walked over to Alan and the Sheriff, standing in between them.

Alan simply looked back down at the images of the victim. "True enough, but wolves are highly migratory. They could have wandered in from another state driven by impulse or strong enough memory." He explained.

Scott furrowed his brows at the vet's words. "Wolves h-have memories?" He asked.

"Longer-term memories, yes. If associated with a primal drive." Alan nodded before moving past the subject almost immediately. "See this one here?" He pointed along the picture of the man's cheek wound, one that was reminiscent of the wound that had been bestowed upon the teen girl still standing in the corner of the room.

"Yeah." Came the Sheriff's answer.

"Those are claw marks." Alan identified, with a frown. "A wolf would have gone for the throat…" He raised his hand in a violent gesture, portraying the gruesome action. "...or the spinal cord with its _teeth_."

Scott's eyes flickered to her and she tensed up defensively, her own gaze flashing in a caustic glare. Scott quickly averted his eyes, looking back down at the photos that were in Alan's hands. Annie drew her crossed arms closer to her chest, letting herself stare at Scott. It was only a matter of time before he got even more suspicious of her, that much she had known, but she didn't think he would have ever made a connection between what had happened to her and the events transpiring in his own life.

Of course, she could simply be jumping to conclusions, just because a deep wound on the victim's cheek reminded him of her own, it didn't mean he would immediately come to the realization that it had been a _werewolf_ that had done the damage to both.

The Sheriff's voice broke through her thoughts. "So… What do you think? It's a mountain lion?"

Alan sighed and shook his head. "I don't know. A wolf _could_ chase down its prey, hobbling it by tearing at the ankles… and _then_ the throat?" He shrugged before grabbing the envelope and slipping the photos back into them. The Sheriff stretched out his hand and accepted the envelope with a grimace when Alan handed it to him, unanswered questions still swirling in his mind. Scott slowly returned back to his place next to her as he continued to take things out of boxes and restock. A silence settled over the quartet, only the sound of shuffling, slight whimpers and Alan's work on the dog filling the air, all four thinking of the events unfolding in Beacon Hills.

* * *

"I cannot _emphasize_ how much I do _not_ want to go to this. I absolutely do _not_ want to fifth wheel."

Lydia could only sigh heavily and roll her eyes at the girl laying on her back, her dark hair splayed out against Lydia's bright comforter. Prada was lying calmly on his stomach, tucked into Annie's side, her hand buried into his fur, rubbing in rhythmic circles into his side.

Turning around, she gave Annie the tight smile that usually indicated to the other person that it'd be a good idea to _stop arguing._ "You _won't_ be fifth wheeling, _whats-his-face_ is going."

Annie sat up and crossed her arms, causing Prada to let out a quiet whine at the loss of her hand. "Stilinski…And your point is...?" She asked, dropping her hand back down to resume giving Prada loving rubs.

Lydia shrugged, her hand rising to wave in a vague, dismissing gesture. "Be the social butterfly I know you are deep, deep, _deep_ down and just _talk_ to the nerd. _Or,_ I can find a nice beefy lacrosse player who'll be all too happy to _bowl_ with you."

She stayed silent, giving Lydia a glare, realizing that the girl had orchestrated the whole thing to _ensure_ she'd go, undoubtedly to provide her with some backup in surveying Scott. "Fine." She bit out, once more crossing her arms and pouting like an upset child.

Lydia took several steps towards the girl, a bright grin on her painted lips. "Oh don't be like that, he'll be _ecstatic_ to go with a doll like you." She leaned forward and lightly poked Annie's nose with the tip of her finger.

Annie wrinkled her nose in response, "More like _ecstatic_ thathe'll get to stare at you all night." She countered back before flopping back down on the comforter, Annie just stared straight up at the ceiling, her attention span running out impressively fast as she half-listened to Lydia rambling on about what she was going to wear. Not a moment later though, she was brought back to earth with the sound of her name being called out. Jolting up, she was met by Lydia's unamused expression.

"I swear to God, Annie, you make me want to claw my eyes out sometimes."

Annie tilted her head, a faux look of sympathy crossing her features. "Aw, and mess up your pretty manicure? And how long did you spend on your eye makeup today? It'd just be waste in general." She shook her head.

Lydia sighed and rolled her eyes. "You're insufferable." She muttered.

Annie grinned, shifting so that she could cross her legs as she let her elbows lean against her knees. "Not to sound cliche, but you totally love it. You love that you have someone that won't immediately bend to your will to stay in your good social graces."

Not a moment passed by before Lydia smirked and slyly retorted. "No, _instead_ I have someone who'll _eventually_ bend to my will to stay in my good graces."

"Uh-" Annie blinked. Lydia wasn't exactly _wrong_. Sure, Annie certainly gave more of a fight than some of the other people in her clique, but Lydia had this way of being able to convince people that her way was the best way, and clearly Annie hadn't quite figured out how to break out of her influence. Not that she _minded_ all that much. They had more differences than they could count, but Lydia provided a _ridiculous_ sense of normalcy that Annie absolutely _craved_. Around her, Annie could be another regular teenage girl talking about outfits and first dates and high school reputations.

Lydia's smirk grew into a triumphant grin as she shook the hanger in her hands. "Yeah, uh huh, now enough of that. What do you think?" She lifted the hanger displaying a pretty and flowy, light yellow tank top closer to Annie so that she got a better look at it.

Annie looked up at the other girl with confusion in her eyes. "Didn't you already pick out an outfit? What was the past _half an hour_ for?" She asked incredulously.

"That _was_ for me. _This_ is for you, and you would have known that if you were paying attention."

Any and all of Annie's amusement at the whole situation went out the window as she looked at Lydia with mild irritation. "I'm not getting dressed up for this. What I'm wearing is perfectly fine for whatever you're scheming, Lydia." She looked down at her soft, light pink sweater and dark jeans. "And anyway, I'm not the one going on a date, I'm being _dragged_ along to be used as a _pawn_ in your game." She looked up with narrowed eyes and raised an accusing finger.

Lydia's hand flew up to settle on her chest as she looked at Annie with wide, innocent eyes. "I'm _appalled_ that you think I don't _genuinely_ want to spend time with you and Allison."

Annie scoffed and shook her head. "Oh, I don't think that. But I _definitely_ know you're not jumping at the chance to spend time with _Scott_ or _Stilinski_."

Lydia dropped the innocent act, the innocence in her expression melting away immediately as she looked at her friend seriously. "Look, we don't know anything about those two nerds and if Allison is going to date one of them, we need to make sure they won't completely _kill_ our reputations."

Annie let out a low whistle, her brows rising and eyes widening dramatically as she avoided eye contact with Lydia, who only rolled her eyes at her friend's theatrics. "Just put the shirt on." She ordered, shaking the hanger once more.

The other girl shook her head vehemently, stretching out a hand to shove the hanger away from her face. "I _really_ don't think that's my style." She tried, just hoping that Lydia would give up. It _was_ a pretty shirt in a pretty color, but Annie was completely unwilling to wear anything shoulder-baring. Hiding the scar on her face was completely out of the question if she didn't want to wear a balaclava for the rest of her life, but at least she had a choice in not having to show off the ones on the rest of her body.

She could tell that Lydia was getting annoyed with her, but while the redhead had established that she had some measure of control over the other girl, this was one thing Annie would absolutely not budge on. Lydia pursed her lips and rolled her eyes, moving the hanger back into Annie's face. "It most _definitely_ is. Honestly, are you just allergic to colors that _don't_ remind you of death and depression."

A muscle in Annie's jaw ticked. That was a low shot, and she was almost certain that Lydia _knew_ it. She hadn't grown comfortable enough to outright tell _anyone_ about the circumstances surrounding her move to Beacon Hills, not even the fake story they had to come up with to protect the whole " _oh right, supernaturals exist_ " concept. What local newspapers saw was ' _Party attacked by bears, minor left as survivor'_ , nevermind the fact that it seemed _strange_ that more than one bear had been at the scene, or that there was only _one_ survivor.

Anything was better than, ' _Pack and family of druids decimated by encroaching werewolves. One poor bitch left as survivor'._

Lydia kept pushing forwards, taking Annie's silence to mean that she was breaking down. "I _promise_ , you'd look _so_ cute. I literally have no _idea_ why you're being so self-conscious it's not a big de-"

" _No_ , Lydia. No tank tops." She snapped, standing up as her voice rose considerably, making the other girl blink in shock. She hadn't ever heard Annie raise her voice above anything passing as an ' _indoor voice_ '. Annie seemed to catch herself immediately, looking down at her feet, she sat back down on the bed and muttered a quiet apology under her breath. Prada scooted up slightly, setting his head comfortably on her lap and her hand naturally rose to rub behind his ear.

A still moment of silence passed between them before Lydia made a move. Throwing the hanger on her pillow, she moved to sit down beside Annie. "How bad is the scarring?" She asked, breaking the silence, her voice gentle. Lydia had seen hints of the remainders of Annie's injuries at her clavicle, poking out from her shirts, as well as the thin jagged line down her forearm during some moments where the girl pushed her sleeves up to her elbow. It was then that Lydia realized she hadn't seen the girl in anything but long sleeves since she met her.

Annie instinctively raised her right hand to clasp her left shoulder, her thumb tracing the fabric of her sweater that laid directly over the larger of the scars on her shoulder. "Bad enough." She muttered. "I display the one on my fucking _face_ enough, I don't want to showcase the rest of them, now can we drop it. _Please_?"

Lydia continued looking at her with those big, calculating eyes, her features holding the same expression she had as though she had been handed a hard math problem, but she was just _oh so close_ to figuring it out. Annie simply stared back at her, a warning glint in her own gaze, another moment of silence passing between the two girls before the latter broke it.

"C'mon, Allison's probably expecting us soon, we should go."

* * *

Annie sat on Allison's bed, crossing her legs as she looked around the familiar room, as Lydia flopped down next to her and crossed her legs. "Okay, so what are you thinking of wearing?" She asked, her tone becoming serious and clinical as though they were about to do something much more than just pick something out to wear for a date.

Allison sighed and looked at the two of them with pleading eyes. "I've been thinking about it all day but I can't decide." Lydia waved away the girl's concern, a smile growing on her features.

"Well, that's why we're here. Show us what you've got."

Allison bounded over to her closet, open the doors and sorting through several shirts before grabbing a dark blouse and turning to show the girls.

"Mm, _pass_." Lydia said immediately. Allison simply smiled wryly, getting a feeling where this was going as she turned around and began sorting through several more shirts. Picking out a pretty, light orange and green blouse, she turned around once more.

"Pass." Came the instant response.

Annie gave Lydia a side glance, "Wow, Lydia, if I didn't know better I would say that you're like, high maintenance or something." She said drawled, only receiving an annoyed glance back as a response. "Oh c'mon, that was _pretty_!"

Lydia let out a scoff and pursed her lips. "And _that_ is why _I_ am here. I'm the voice of reason here. Let me see." She got up from the bed, ignoring Annie's muttered _'You're the voice of something_ ' and strolled up to Allison's closet, immediately digging in to survey the outfit choices. With each hanger she moved aside, Lydia declared a very confident ' _Pass_ ', causing Allison to look over her shoulder and roll her eyes, making Annie grin.

"Ugh, pass on all of it." Lydia turned to the girl and reached a hand out to play with her loose, chestnut curls. "Allison, respect for your taste is, uh, _dwindling_ by the second." Her hand dropped to pat Allison's arm before letting out a laugh and returning to her search for a Lydia-Approved shirt option.

But it didn't take very long before Lydia let out a surprised sound, taking the hanger off the rack, she stared at the shirt in her hands for a moment before walking away from the closet and holding it up for the other to girls to see. " _This_." She announced with a proud smile. Allison took the shirt, holding up the hanger against her body as she turned slightly to see herself in the mirror, The sound of her bedroom door opening drew all their attention to the man who absentmindedly entered.

Allison looked at him, a confused smile on her lips. "Dad, _hello_?"

As Allison's father shrugged on the jacket in his hands, a look of realization crossed his features. "Right, I'm sorry. I-I completely forgot to knock." He looked at her apologetically.

Lydia let herself fall onto the bed, her strawberry blonde ringlets hitting Annie in the face, making her shoot a dirty look at the girl. Lydia ignored her friend and simply, looked up at Allison's father with a bright smile, one hand moving to support her head, while the other was placed carefully on her hip. " _Hi_ , Mr. Argent."

Allison shook her head at Lydia and turned back to look at her father. "Dad, do you need something?" She asked.

"I wanted to tell you that you'll be staying in tonight." He said, his tone soft.

Allison furrowed her brows and shook her head. "What? I'm going out with my friends tonight."

Her dad once again looked at her apologetically, but his words were firm. "Not when some animal out there is attacking people."

"Dad, _Dad_ , I'm- uh… " She began to protest, but he immediately interrupted her, making her press her lips together in frustration.

"Hey, it's out of my hands. There's a curfew, no one's allowed out past 9:30 pm." He explained, watching as his daughter rolled her eyes and sighed heavily, bunching up the shirt in her hands and throwing it over Annie's head on her bed.

"Hey, no more arguing." He said with a lingering smile, turning to leave. The sound of the door closing behind him was the only sound that filled the air for a moment. Lydia stood up slowly, her gaze trained in the direction that Mr. Argent had just left before turning to look at Allison with a little smirk.

"Someone's daddy's little girl." She commented.

Allison's hand rose to her lips, and she bit at the tip of her index finger for a moment as she stared at the closed door. Annie stood up from the bed and stood at Allison's left. She could practically see the gears turning in the brunette's head and witness the moment of decision in her eyes. Allison dropped her hand slightly, crossing her arms and clenched her jaw. "Sometimes. But not tonight." She said with conviction.

She weaved behind Annie and stepped towards her dresser, grabbing a beanie and slipping it on her head. She looked at her reflection for a moment before walking to her window, carefully raising the sill so that it wouldn't make too much of a sound.

Annie and Lydia looked at one another confusion as they watched their friend slip a leg out of the window. Slipping her other leg out, Allison was suddenly standing on the roof and the two girls rushed forwards in concern."What are you doing?" Lydia hissed, but Allison either didn't hear her or just ignored her, as she didn't give a verbal response. Instead, she balanced herself on the edge of the roof and performed an unexpectedly impressive front flip, landing gracefully on two feet.

"Oh, my God." Annie whispered, her body practically half out in the night air as she looked down at Allison who was brushing herself off.

"Eight years gymnastics." Allison offered an explanation before gesturing towards them. "Are you guys coming?"

Lydia, still looking down with wide eyes, shook her head slowly. "We'll take the stairs."

Annie nodded along with Lydia's words, "We'll warn your dad that you're super upset and that you should be left alone for tonight." She winked before pulling the sill back down.

Lydia placed a hand on her wrist. "Wait, she won't be able to get back in if you close it."

"Well, _that's_ why I'm leaving it open a crack." She grinned, doing just as she said before drawing the curtains and turning to look around the room for a moment. Taking a step forwards, Annie grabbed one of the four pillows on Allison's bed and tucked it under the covers. She quickly turned off the light on the bedside table on her right and rushed towards the other side to do the same to the lamp there.

"Seriously? You really think they'll fall for this ?"

Annie shrugged and grabbed her bag before opening the door and beginning to walk out of Allison's room. "I sure hope so." She said, giving a last look to the darkened room and walking out, letting Lydia walk past her before shutting the door behind them.

* * *

Upon arriving at the bowling alley, the two couples gravitated naturally towards each other, leaving Annie and Stiles behind as they entered through the doors. Annie pursed her lips, squinting against the harsh, bright lights of the alley, but nevertheless followed after the rest of the group. She knew that she had wanted to be more proactive about the whole _being social_ thing, but now that she was _here_ there was absolutely nothing she wanted more than to be back at home in a pair of sweats and perhaps a borrowed dog. She was sure Lydia wouldn't mind if Prada was missing for a couple of hours. Or days.

"I do not want to be here." came the softly muttered comment from Annie.

Stiles, who was beside her, turned his head and looked down at her with a wide smile. "Wow, good to see you too, Annie. I'm great, thanks for asking! Good to know human decency is still a thing." He drawled, not doing anything to hide the sarcasm in his voice.

Annie pursed her lips at his tone and simply crossed her arms. "Sarcasm isn't gonna make me feel bad, I would _genuinely_ prefer to be _mauled_ than be here right now."

Stiles looked at her, his mouth gaping slightly at the unexpected comment."Uh…" His eyes unwillingly flickered to her left cheek, making her raise a challenging eyebrow at him.

"Yeah? Whatcha lookin' at, Stilinski?" She bit out, hostility in her voice.

Stiles blanched, quickly averting his eyes and shaking his head. "Y-You- that was a setup." He accused, still unwilling to look her straight in the face.

She dropped the hostile glare the moment he spoke and responded with a smirk and a nod. "Yeah, you're right. I just liked seeing you flounder, might've made coming here worth the effort." She shrugged before pushing forwards, catching up with the others at the front desk.

They were quick to get their shoes and snag a lane of their own. Lydia and Jackson wasted no time in getting the game set up as the rest of them slipped on the footwear. Allison walked off to find a properly weighted ball and Scott followed after her leaving the rest of them in awkward silence. Annie figured that she should just get comfortable with the sense of intense discomfort. There was no way she'd be able to get out of this short of just hiding in the bathroom for the next couple of hours. Or maybe she could fake an injury? Maybe she could inflict a _real_ injury?

Glancing to the side, she wondered how believable it would be if she _accidentally_ flung a ball at Stiles. It'd give them a good reason to get out of there, and she figured she'd be doing the kid a favor as well, considering he had been added on as an afterthought to the double date just as she had been.

She allowed herself to zone in and out, unbothered by the fact that she wasn't exactly being the _greatest_ friend at the moment, only coming back to the situation when she heard the others call her out of her daydreaming. The game started out slowly and painfully, especially on Scott's end. She didn't think anyone who had been at that lunch table yesterday had expected Scott to be telling the truth when he said he was a _great_ bowler, but Scott was absolutely _dying_ out there.

And quite frankly, at this point, she was wondering if she could make herself feel threatened enough to use the odd abilities that seemed to have manifested several months ago to force Scott's bowling ball to get a strike. _Anything_ to prevent any more of the torture that came in the form of Jackson and Lydia's giggling and gloating.

Watching Jackson once more achieve a strike and receive a long, drawn-out kiss from his girlfriend as a reward, Annie grimaced and mumbled under her breath. "I said it before, but I'll say it again… I do _not_ want to be here."

Stiles, who was sitting slumped beside her with his arms crossed and a look of vague disgust on his face, nodded vehemently."Yeah… I think I'm gonna have to agree with you this time." She turned slightly and gave him a look that he couldn't quite describe save for the fact that it had hints of… was it _sympathy_?

Truthfully, Annie felt bad that Stiles had been dragged into this mess needlessly, and she had a feeling that that statement could double for things much larger than a weird group date that Lydia had carefully orchestrated to feed into her and Jackson's own egos.

They watched as Allison took her turn, skillfully knocking down seven of the pins on her first go. "I might get some nachos or some pizza or something, you want some?" Stiles turned his head to look at her with raised brows.

Annie sat up at the invitation, eyes wide in what could only be described as _desperation_. "If you're getting away from here, _hell yeah_. I'm gonna break out in hives if I feel any more second-hand embarrassment." She stood up and took the lead in guiding them away from the rest of the group. "Y'all can play for us!" She called over her shoulder to the remaining quartet, not sticking around to hear their responses. Turning back to Stiles, she raised a scrutinizing brow. "Are you getting meat on anything?"

He looked at her with surprise. "You're a-"

Annie rolled her eyes, " _Yes_ , I'm a vegetarian, step off Stilinski. It's better for the earth and your body." She said, defensiveness immediately creeping into her voice.

He held out his hands in a semblance of a placating gesture. "Hey, I'm not judging or anything… I just didn't expect you to be like that."

"Like what?" She crossed her arms and looked at him, completely unimpressed.

He gave a vague shrug, careful not to accidentally offend her any more than he _apparently_ already had. "All… health conscious… nature-loving…"

Crossing her arms, she pursed her lips. "Yeah, well…I'd much rather have the company of a _fern_ right now."

"That's… okay, good to know where you stand on interpersonal relationships." He nodded awkwardly, shoving his hands into his sweatshirt pockets. They quickly reached the alley's bar where they took up two stools that allowed them to still see their friends. Stiles ordered some nachos and the two were left in silence as they waited.

His head turned to look back at the group, his gaze trained on the back of one particular person's head.

"I have more of a chance with her than you do." Stiles' stool swiveled at an impressive speed as he turned to look at her defensively.

"What? Uh- _no_ , I have a _very_ specific, very _foolproof_ plan to get Lydia Martin to fall in love with me." He declared confidently. His confidence faltered slightly at Annie's snort.

"Yeah? And how's it working, _fool_?" She asked, leaning forwards, raising a challenging eyebrow.

Stiles slumped slightly, his hand moving to support his head as he leaned his cheek against his palm. "Still in its beta stages." He muttered.

Annie shook her head and leaned back. "You don't need a _plan_ , Stilinski. You need _game_."

It was his turn to snort. "Oh, and _you_ have game?" He asked her dubiously, he twisted his torso to swivel the stool so that he could look at her directly, giving her a skeptical once-over. "The closest I've seen you get to some kind of _charming_ was when you held a door open too early for a teacher and they had to run to catch up to you."

"You saw that?" She grimaced before shaking her head, forcing herself back to the topic at hand. "Look, I don't need to have a _lot_ of game… Just more than you, and that's like… a given."

Just as Stiles was about to open his mouth to retort, the nachos he ordered slid between them and he simply opted to give her a dirty look as he dug into the snack.

Slipping her phone out of her back pocket, she checked the time and groaned audibly at having seen that it had only been about a half hour. Letting her head fall onto the wooden top of the bar, her hair provided a nice curtain and for a few moments, she could at least pretend that she was in a private room all by herself somewhere.

"Why'd you even come if you didn't want to?" Stiles' question caused her to look up and grimace as she saw him talk around a mouth full of chips and nacho cheese.

She pushed her curls out of her eyes as she let her head fall once more on the bar top, but remained looking at Stiles. "Have you ever tried to _argue_ with Lydia?"

He frowned as he shook his head and swallowed. "I don't think she's ever let me close enough to her to ever even _start_ an argument."

She sighed and furrowed her brows, as though she were still trying to figure it out herself. "Well, she does this weird… thing… with her eyes. And she _pouts_ just a little… like I literally have no idea how she does it." She lifted her head and turned her gaze to look at Lydia with narrowed eyes. "I think she's a Jedi." She announced.

He coughed violently, choking on the nacho he had popped into his mouth.

Grimacing at the pieces of chips that flew out of his mouth, she wrinkled her nose and raised her chin slightly. "Cute."

He coughed for several more seconds before pointing at her. "A _Star Wars_ reference? You… don't seem like the type."

Annie bristled and shoved his finger out of her face. " _Why_ 'cause I'm a girl? I could _literally_ write an entire thesis on how sexist that is. Not only that but, like, what is it with nerd culture perpetuating this idea that girls can't be into that shit?"

He blinked at the mini rant she had gone on, not expecting to see her get so fired up. " _No_ , not that _at all…_ I mean… valid points but uh- I'm just saying that you don't seem like you'd be into any of that fantasy/sci-fi stuff."

Annie felt the back of her neck heat up in embarrassment, "Believe me, I'm way more into it than I'd like to admit." She mumbled before sighing and reaching over to grab a nacho, popping it into her mouth.

* * *

"You think if I tried to sneak out that they'd notice?"

With the basket of nachos decimated, there really was nothing much keeping her in the alley, and if she had the option to leave, she'd take it without any question.

Stiles raised an eyebrow at her, "Didn't you three come in one car?"

Annie shrugged, swiveling her stool so that she was facing away from the bar, the wooden top digging into her back. "Yeah? Your point? I'm not all that opposed to walking."

"You know there's a curfew right? Like, 'cause of _animal attacks_..." He emphasized, giving her a look of vague concern, not completely sure whether or not she would _actually_ walk out of the bowling alley all by herself and _walk_ home.

" _Yeah_? _Your point_? Honestly, I'd rather be eaten by a mountain lion than sit through Jackson and Scott's dick measuring contest any longer."

He grimaced and pressed his lips together, his gaze shifting to look at the group only to see Jackson roll another strike and accept an enthusiastic kiss from his girlfriend. Nodding in vehement agreement, he turned back to Annie. "Yeah, I'm not into this anymore, I'll drive."

She looked at him with genuine surprise. "Wait- seriously?"

He nodded once more and raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't tell me you're going to back out. You're not all talk are you?" He teased with a grin.

Scoffing, she hopped off the stool and immediately made a beeline towards the quartet. Joining back up with them, a glance at the screen hanging from the ceiling told her that Scott had apparently found his groove, having rolled strikes the past _four_ times he had gone. Shaking her head, she bent down to grab her bag and sling it over her shoulder. "Hey, Alan wants me back home right now. Stiles is gonna take me so don't worry about it, have fun, you crazy kids. Don't get eaten, or mauled, or anything." She lifted her hand in a half wave but once again, wasted no time waiting for a response from anyone.

Catching up with Stiles, the two made their way out of the bowling alley and into the parking lot, where his powder blue jeep was easily spotted. They remained in silence for the first several minutes of Stiles driving them out of the lot and onto the main road.

"Okay, so I'm pretty sure you take a left from here." She spoke up, the uncertainty clear in her voice as she looked down at her phone and began pulling up the GPS. She _really_ needed to begin getting more acquainted with the town. She only really knew how to and from school, the clinic, some gas stations, and that one little café Lydia adored.

Stiles nodded as they came up to a stoplight. "Oh yeah, you're Lydia's neighbor, right? It's not all that far from here. I know how to get there." He said as though assuring her, although it only served to make her side eye him.

Annie shook her head, "Of course you do." She muttered under her breath.

He turned to look at her, slightly affronted. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

She held her hands up, as though to say ' _no judgment_ ' although her tone said the complete opposite. "Nothing, I'm just _saying_ , it's not surprising that you know where she _lives_."

"Yeah, well… a lot of us seem to know things we shouldn't."

 _That_ caught her attention. _Oh, Stilinski wants to play._ Stiles kept his gaze on the road, his expression completely neutral save for the slight clenching of his jaw, as though he were holding himself back from saying something else.

Crossing her arms, her left index finger tapped a steady rhythm against her other arm. Annie nodded slowly before letting her head fall against the passenger window. "That's a fair point, high school seems like an easy place for that kind of mess to happen."

He glanced at her for a moment before returning his gaze to the road. "What?"

She shrugged casually, trying to keep up her air of nonchalance. "Oh, you know, like you said. For people to find out things they shouldn't. High school's a _cesspool_ of gossip." She sighed as if to say ' _what a shame_ '. "One minute you're trying to keep a secret and the next, Sarah Mason in sixth period World History knows everything you're hiding plus your social security and blood type." She lifted her head from its position of leaning against the window, but kept it forward, only letting her eyes glance out to her periphery, not wanting him to feel like she was just looking at him.

His knuckles were whitening as they gripped the steering wheel tightly. She remained silent for several more minutes, giving him the option to say whatever it was that was on his mind, but he seemed to be playing the same game. The two of them were just waiting for the other to reveal any hint that they knew what was going on. But neither one of them seemed willing to take control of the conversation.

It wasn't long before they pulled into her street and it was then that Annie decided to speak up again. "I think we'd all just be so much better if everyone kept to themselves and just didn't… I dunno… _bark_ up the wrong tree, you know?"

It was an awkward transition and puns were _remarkably_ lazy, and _usually_ , she _genuinely_ tried not to make them, but she _truly_ couldn't pass up the opportunity to get one more over Stiles. Just like she had said to Alan yesterday, she was only trying to freak them out enough so that they'd take care of themselves. She really couldn't care less if they were suspicious of her, or ended up _hating_ her. So long as they stopped being so _stupidly_ obvious about what they were going through- or rather what _Scott_ was going through, then she would be perfectly content.

"Oh, and there's my stop, that was a quick ride." She smiled pleasantly at the pale boy who was grasping at the wheel so hard she wondered whether his fingers would leave deeper indentations. The jeep came to a stop in front of her house and she unlocked the passenger side door, only to hear the click of the lock once more. She tensed up and turned her head to look at him, her eyes flashing in warning. He opened his mouth and she half expected him to just come out and ask her point blank about what she knew, but instead, he pressed the button once more and the sound of the lock being unlocked rang in the silence.

"Sorry, hit it by accident." He muttered, avoiding her gaze.

She narrowed her eyes at him and nodded slowly. "Uh huh." Was all she said before she opened the door and precariously hopped down. Reaching in, she grabbed her bag that had been at her feet and took a moment to pause and look at Stiles, who was still avoiding looking at her.

"Hey." She called, making him finally look at her, suspicion heavily clear in his eyes. "Thanks for driving me home. I really appreciate it." She said, her tone devoid of any taunting or slyness like before. Her gratitude was genuine and he seemed to sense it. He sighed and nodded, waving away her thanks, before putting his car back into gear. She slammed the door, and she could clearly hear Stiles shout _'Easy!_ ' despite the windows being rolled up and the roar of the car's engine filling the air.

Rolling her eyes and shaking her head, she opened the little mountain ash gate and made her way as fast as she could inside.

"Hope you had a fun time breaking a police mandated curfew!"

Alan's voice from the kitchen reached her the moment she stepped inside. She didn't bother walking to his location, wanting nothing more than to just get to bed. "Oh yeah, you know it! Also, I'm a drug dealer and committed second degree, sorry!" She called out, pausing on the stairs and yelling over the banister. Not hearing a response from her uncle, she concluded he just rolled his eyes and resumed whatever it was he had been doing before she came in.

The minute she got into her room, she found herself running on autopilot once more. Kicking off her heels and stripping out of her clothes was probably the best thing she had done for herself that day. Donning her much-adored sweatpants and tee shirt, Annie left her room to brush her teeth and deal with her hair, wrapping it up as fast as she could so that she could just get under her covers. When she returned to her room, she shut the door and walked over to her dresser to take her contacts out and grab her glasses.

 _Finally_ , she walked over to the light switch and flipped it off, flooding her room with darkness. Annie quite literally threw herself into bed, narrowly missing her phone and making bounce against her comforter. Pressing the home button, the screen lit up and she saw she had missed a text from Lydia.

 _Not who I'd pair you up with, but I'm sure he's a good way back into the game. Hope you were safe!_

"Why is everything about sex, Lydia?" She muttered before typing up a quick reply and shutting the screen off as she threw her glasses off and tried to settle in for bed.

 _Not even in HIS dreams, Lydia. Calm down._


	5. Ephorize

Lungs burned as her feet pounded against the ground. The feeling of the uneven earth beneath her shoes and the sight of her hot breath forming into little curling clouds grounded her in a way that was most certainly _needed_. Running had always been something she could turn to if she just needed to clear her head, and clearing her head was probably exactly the kind of self-care she _desperately_ needed.

It was officially almost three months since she had been injured and while she was still technically recovering, she couldn't ever just _do nothing_. That just wasn't the kind of person she was, which evidently resulted in situations where she found herself way more in over her head than she could ever anticipate.

Annie just couldn't stand being cooped up like that anymore, even if it _was_ more or less a self-induced seclusion. It just felt like she was at war with herself. One part of her was just trying its best to keep as protected as possible to make up for all that she had gone through recently, but the other part of her just wanted to continue on as normally as she could be with the circumstances being what they were. Being out here for a run in the early morning, the cool air moving across her warm skin, it gave her the semblance of normalcy she craved.

Time seemed to just fly by much faster than she had anticipated, which was _exactly_ what she was hoping for, and she suddenly found herself back in front of Alan's house. Taking her earbuds out, she unlocked the door and stepped in. As quietly as she could, she closed the door once more and took her sneakers off, placing them off to the side before making her way to the kitchen to get a glass of water. She hurried about the kitchen as quietly as possible, gulping down her water quickly and placing the glass in the sink before turning to walk to her room. But as she walked through the threshold to the kitchen, her uncle's form quickly descending from the stairs made her jump in alarm as he nearly ran into her.

" _Holy sh-_ " She began to swear, her hand flying up to her chest as she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart, but her uncle's light amused voice interrupted her before she could finish.

"You're up early."

Annie shook her head, looking up at him with a dirty look as her hand slid up to rub absentmindedly at her left shoulder. "And you want to send me into cardiac arrest." She bit out, her voice shaking slightly as she recovered from the fright.

"Guilty." He held his hands up, almost as if to say ' _what can you do_?' He leaned against the door frame, crossing his arms as he looked down at her expectantly. "What were you doing out there? The curfew doesn't end for another half hour."

Kneading at her shoulder, she rolled her eyes and gave a light sigh."Couldn't sleep so I figured it'd be best to be at least a _little_ productive and start running again." She said casually, using her other hand to gesture down at her activewear.

Alan could only raise an unimpressed eyebrow at his niece. "Are you even cleared to physically exert yourself." He furrowed his brows in concern, his gaze sliding down to where she was _still_ rubbing at her shoulder. She immediately dropped her hand, waving it vaguely for a moment as though she were waving away his concern before dropping it completely to her side.

"It ain't like I'm running with my _face_."

"No, but I'm _sure_ your shoulder and calf aren't all that happy with you now." He let his hands drop, but kept one aloft to gesture vaguely to her bothersome shoulder.

Annie frowned slightly before looking down at her shoulder. "Hey, bud, you good?" She asked dramatically. Lifting the limb, it took everything she had not to outright grimace, but she instead pitched her voice upwards. ' _All good here_ ' she replied, as though it had said it. As for her calf, she couldn't admit to him that it was currently _burning._ To admit it would be to admit he was right, and god _forbid_ she admit someone else be right.

Alan sighed heavily, looking up at the ceiling as though praying for strength before looking back down at Annie who had dropped her shoulder. Looking seriously at her, he looked at her with those terrible x-ray-like eyes.

"Was it a nightmare again?"

It was as though that question was all that was needed for her to shut down. All traces of lighthearted joking immediately disappeared as she put on the default emotional mask that was carefully crafted not to let anything slip. "Yeah, sure." She kept her answer short and clipped, as she stepped forward, intending to step around her uncle when he leaned to the side, blocking her way out.

"Annie…" He said quietly. It was the same soft, warning tone her mother would use if she got too snarky or if she knew Annie was hiding something. Alan was older, it was perfectly likely that her mom had picked it up from _him_. Whatever the case, it truly wasn't the time for her to make that connection and she ducked her way past him anyway.

She turned slightly as she walked up the stairs. "Look, I didn't want to go back to sleep, okay?" She said casually, lifting her foot and resting it on the next step up.

He continued looking at her with a neutral expression, the one that told her he was observing her for the slightest give away that she _wasn't_ as okay as she tried to make herself out to be. "Which one was it?" He asked.

Turning completely, she crossed her arms almost impatiently. "It's always the same one." She said, a warning edge to her voice.

"Maybe if you talked about it-"

Annie rolled her eyes, completely exasperated. "Look, even _if_ I talk about it, I'll still remember in _excruciating_ detail what it looked like to have my own mother's throat torn out in front of me." She snapped.

He winced despite trying to hide his reaction from her harsh words, but he recovered quickly. Trying to maintain his calm exterior he pushed on. "You're afraid to talk about it and that's oka-"

Clenching her jaw, Annie shook her head. "I have no reason to be afraid. The guy's dead."

Alan raised an eyebrow pointedly, "But the others aren't."

Annie looked at her uncle in silence for half a second, unwilling to admit to the way her heart began to beat in anxiety at those simple four words. She whipped around abruptly and just continued walking up the stairs. "It's too early to have this conversation." She dismissed. "I need to shower and get ready for school." She said quietly, refusing to turn around and look at him, lest he tried his hand at poking through her self-imposed barriers once more.

She had a feeling if he tried any more, that they'd come crashing down.

And _that_ wouldn't be good for _anyone_.

* * *

"You look… _tired_. Are you okay?"

Annie dragged her gaze to the side to meet Allison's concerned expression. Allison's brows were furrowed and she reached out to place a hand on Annie's shoulder. Annie shut her locker and leaned against it as she looked up at Allison with a wry smile. "That's not _Allison_ -speakfor ' _you look like absolute shit_ ' is it?" She joked, trying to wave away the girl's concern.

Allison's brows shot up, her eyes widening as she shook her head quickly. She dropped her hand from Annie's shoulder, " _No_! No, absolutely not. You just… you look _tired_." She finished lamely. Tugging at the strap of her bag, she started following Annie as the girl kicked herself off the locker she was leaning against and began walking down the hall. "When did you go to bed?" She asked the smaller girl.

Annie gave a nondescript shrug, raising a hand and waving it about vaguely. "Around ten, couldn't get a good night's sleep though." She said casually before looking over at Allison. "You look pretty tired yourself." She pointed out, eager to quickly steer the conversation away from herself.

Allison either didn't pick up on the quick subject change or didn't mind it. She sighed and nodded, her hand flying up to rub at her forehead. "Yeah, there was some kind of… _commotion_ last night. I woke up at like, two in the morning 'cause my dad had to go help out my aunt Kate with some car troubles."

Turning her head, Annie raised a surprised brow at Allison. "At _two_ in the morning? Are things good?" Late night commotions, especially ones that happened that early in the morning were never _good_.

Allison nodded, quick to reassure Annie that things were alright. "Yeah, she's _fine…_ But- I think I caught them in a lie?" A slight frown pulled at the corners of her lips. "I just dunno why they'd _lie_ about something like that."

"Well, what's the lie?"

Allison sighed, the frown still on her lips. "Dad said she had a flat tire, but I asked her this morning and _she_ said she needed a jump start." She furrowed her brows and shook her head slightly before turning to look at Annie.

Annie herself had a thoughtful look on her face. "That's definitely kind of weird, but…" She trailed off.

"Nothing I should be freaking out over, right?" Allison filled in with a little smile.

Annie shrugged, "I mean, _I_ freak out about practically everything so I dunno if I'm _quite_ the best person to ask about what you should and should not be freaking out over." She said, making Allison laugh despite being _completely_ serious.

But despite her laugh, Annie could see that Allison was still troubled by the fact that her family members had potentially lied to her face. Annie placed a hand on Allison's arm, "You could always bring it up casually. See how they react, you'll be able to feel a shift in the air, sometimes they'll unconsciously look at each other real fast if they're lying. Either way, they'll have a tell, just stay observant." She let her hand fall as she shrugged once more.

Allison raised a brow as she looked down at Annie, causing the shorter girl to mimic her. Annie raised a brow and placed her hands on her waist. " _Yeah_?" She asked.

Allison shook her head, a little smile playing on her lips. "Nothing, c'mon _spy kid_." She teased, throwing an arm around Annie's shoulders as they continued down the hall and soon separated to go their respective homerooms.

* * *

Annie _seriously_ regretted having not made her usual large mug of coffee that morning, but when she had gotten back downstairs after her quick shower, Alan had been sitting leisurely in the kitchen. Knowing he'd likely return back to their earlier conversation, she did the only logical thing she could think of: she ran as fast as she could out of the house and into her car. Having been so frazzled, she didn't even _think_ to stop by Lydia's beloved little café on her way to school and as a result, she had missed out on the life-saving elixir she was most _definitely_ addicted to.

Annie ended up cursing herself as she sat through her first class, thoroughly wishing she had taken the time to grab _some_ kind of stimulant before starting her day. Subtly tossing a look over her shoulder under the guise of checking the time, she spotted Stiles sitting in the back corner tapping his foot and his pencil furiously.

Maybe if she asked nicely, he'd give her some Addy?

She snapped her head forwards and blinked quickly as if the action would get rid of the _stupid_ in her brain. She _needed_ this day to end.

After seven periods of vaguely drifting in and out of consciousness, Annie found herself dragging her half-live body over the threshold of her last class to her locker to switch out the books she didn't need for homework for the ones she did. Digging into her bag, she pulled out her car keys before walking to meet up with Lydia and Allison who were on their way down to their own lockers.

"- coming over? _Tonight_?" She caught the tail end of Lydia's exclamation, only receiving a half-invested nod at her quiet greeting.

Allison gave her a smile before turning back to answer Lydia. "We're just studying together."

Lydia gave a light scoff and shook her head. "'Just studying' never ends with _just studying_. It's like… getting into a hot tub, somebody _eventually_ cops a feel." She said with a half-shrug, as though it was the most obvious conclusion one could come up with.

 _That_ certainly woke her up. Annie blinked and replayed Lydia's words just to make sure she heard it correctly before turning to the redhead. "Uh- what kind of hot tubs have _you_ been getting into?" She asked incredulously.

" _All_ the right ones." She teased back with a wink, not missing a beat. "Evidently, _you_ haven't been."

"Not the point," Annie muttered as she crossed her arms.

Allison shook her head at the two before bringing the conversation back to the topic at hand. "So, what are you saying?"

"I'm just _saying_ , you know, make sure he _covers up_." Allison only looked at them blankly, the look of genuine confusion on her expression made a wave of fondness wash over Annie and one of exasperation wash over Lydia.

Lydia could only look at the tall brunette with a look of amused disbelief. Giving a short laugh, she shook her head and continued walking down the steps, only stopping momentarily to turn back to Allison. " _Hello_ , Snow White! Do it with him with a _condom_."

Allison looked as though she had been caught totally off guard. "Are you kidding? After _one_ date?"

Lydia smirked. "Don't be a _total_ prude. Give him a little taste."

"Well, I-I mean, how much is 'a little taste'?" Allison looked troubled, shifting her gaze between her two friends.

Lydia pursed her lips and searched Allison's face. "Oh, God. You _really_ like him, don't you?"

"Well, ugh-" Allison sighed, raising a hand run it through her hair. "He's just _different_." Annie couldn't help but roll her eyes at the cliched response. Although, she had to give Allison that. He certainly _was_ different, but she wasn't quite sure it would be in the way Allison was completely hoping for.

Allison continued on with her explanation. "When I first moved here, I had a plan. No boyfriends 'til college. I just move too much. But… then I met him, and… he was different. I-I dunno. I can't explain it." Lydia and Annie glanced at each other before turning to Allison.

"I can," Lydia responded brusquely. "It's your brain flooding with phenylethylamine." She said, her tone once again presenting her words as though they were the most obvious things in the world.

Allison blinked before laughing at Lydia in disbelief. " _What_?"

Seeing how freaked out she was really getting over the situation, Annie cut in, shaking her head and uncrossing her arms, "Ignore little miss _'love is a neurochemical con job'_ over here." Giving the girl a soft smile, she reached over and placed a hand on Allison's shoulder. "Al, take a deep breath and calm down. When _exactly_ is he supposed to go over to your house?"

"Right after school." Allison answered before biting her lip.

Annie nodded and dropped her hand. "Okay, so just find some condoms and see where the night leads you. If you feel like you're ready, then you'll be prepared. If not, then no harm, no foul." She shrugged.

Allison bobbed her head slowly in understanding before shifting her gaze to Lydia, as though seeing if she too approved of the plan.

"Sounds good to me. So long as there aren't little Scott McCalls running around in nine months, whatever you do is a sound plan."

* * *

All she wanted to do at that point was just go _home_.

Groaning in frustration at the immobile blue jeep directly in front of her, she impulsively opened the door to her own car, suddenly finding herself having stepped out with an irritated expression clear on her face.

"Stilinski!" She called, storming over. "What the hel- _Holy shit_ , is he _okay_?" Her tone changed impossibly fast. From raging irritation to intense concern, it made all the boys look up in alarm at the tiny girl who appeared at the driver's side window of the jeep.

"Fine! He's fine!"

Her eyes immediately zeroed in on the pale skin of his hand. Dark blood dripped from the tips of his fingers, and telltale black veins leading up past his sleeve made her eyes widen in concerned recognition. Hale noticed how her eyes were trained on his skin and he pulled his jacket sleeve over his hand, drawing her back to the present. Looking to Stiles and Scott, who stood on the passenger side of the jeep, she gave the two of them a frown.

"That…" She hesitated before swallowing hard.

She had a decision to make and she had to make it _now_. It only took a split second before she opened her mouth, knowing that she would undoubtedly regret giving them any more reason to suspect her of _anything_. "That looks like aconite poisoning. He needs to get to a hospital. Like _now_." Derek looked at her sharply, brows furrowed as he watched her with bleary eyes.

"Aco-" Scott began, confusion clear in his eyes before she rolled her own and interrupted him.

"Wolfsbane." She said impatiently. _That_ caught both their attention.

Stiles frowned and looked at her suspiciously. "Wait, how do _you_ know about _wolfsbane_?"

"My dad was a botanist." She answered easily. It wasn't a _lie,_ her father really _had_ been a botanist but it wasn't exactly the reason why _she_ knew about wolfsbane. Her gaze flickered towards Derek knowing that if she tripped up and let her heart race during the delivery of her excuse, that he'd be the only one to catch it. She doubted he'd be in any position to _do_ anything about it, though.

"Just- Hospital, okay?" She pointed seriously at Stiles before turning her gaze to Derek's pale and ill-looking face. "They might not be able to do much about the damage that was already done, but they'll be able to get the wolfsbane out of your system. Your body should be able to handle the rest."

She was talking way too much, giving too much information about how much she really knew. Knowing the two of them, they'd be pestering her about it for the next couple of days. She'd need to work to solidify her story.

The three of them continued to give her suspicious looks, causing her to huff in frustration. " _Fine._ See if I care, just get this fucking _trashcan_ moving, you're holding up the whole school." She bit, throwing her hands up in frustration as she whipped around to walk back to her car, ignoring Stiles' loud sound of indignation at her calling his car a trash can.

Slamming her car door shut as she settled back into her seat, she buckled back up and exhaled sharply as she placed both hands on the steering wheel, her grip tightening as she stared at the now moving vehicle in front of her. Did she dare follow them? She'd be digging herself a deeper hole than she already had if she stalked behind that jeep.

Her attention was dragged away from the jeep as Allison came up beside her window and peered in, giving her a confused look. She didn't bother rolling the window down and just simply gave Allison a shrug. Allison shook her head in frustration and pushed forwards, meeting up with Scott with furrowed brows, meanwhile Annie put her car into gear and slowly passed the duo by before accelerating away from the parking lot and onto the main road.

As she drove, she became too wrapped up in her thoughts. How morally _bankrupt_ would she be if she just let them go?

She could _clearly_ tell that Hale was seriously in trouble. Anyone with the basic level of awareness of a _toddler_ could come to that conclusion, _Then_ , there came the fact that his life had been left in the hands of _Dumb_ and _Dumber_. She was sure the two of them were… _resourceful_ in their own ways. Considering the fact that Scott hadn't fully shifted and killed half the school yet and Stiles was very much still alive and not _mauled_ , she had to remind herself not to underestimate the boys.

 _But_ this wasn't something that relied on _luck_ , was it? Treating a werewolf of wolfsbane poisoning required some heavily specific knowledge, and judging by how close to unconsciousness Derek looked, she figured she could probably count him out as a resource for the two teen boys.

Which meant she was pretty sure they had _no fucking clue_ about what they were doing.

Forcing herself back into the present, she gave a start as she looked out her windshield, making awkward eye contact with Stiles as he looked up at his rearview mirror, staring right back at her as they stopped at a red light. Muttering a swear under her breath, she instinctively took the next right, silently cursing herself for unconsciously following the powder blue Jeep.

 _Keep moving, Emery._

There was nothing more she could do for them at this point. But what she _could_ do was drive as fast as she could home and get some sleep.

* * *

Usually, awakening from a nap would have her feeling at least a little bit more refreshed and ready to take on whatever she had pushed off in order to take the nap. But this time, she woke up still feeling particularly anxious about what she had witnessed earlier that afternoon.

Sliding out of bed, she padded over to the door and made her way downstairs where Alan resided in his office. The sounds of her bare feet against the hardwood were muted but nevertheless, Alan turned around in his swiveling desk chair to look at her before she could even announce her presence at the door. A brow rose questioningly as he folded his hands across his stomach and looked at her curiously.

"Hey, okay… so _hypothetically-"_ She began weakly.

Alan tilted his head. "Not the _greatest_ way to start a conversation, but continue."

" _Hypothetically-_ " she pressed on with an eye roll, letting herself lean against the doorframe. "If you were to… I dunno, spot two of your idiot classmates with a wolfsbane infected werewolf, but you made a promise to yourself not to get involved with anything, would you?"

"Get involved?"

"Yeah."

He looked at her, and for a moment she thought he would just call her out on her terrible attempt to be _hypothetical_. Instead, he simply continued to humor her. "How badly infected?"

She shrugged and raised a hand to scratch the side of her nose. "Like uh… like somewhere between _oh this is fine, just put some Neosporin on it, you're fine-_ infected and _probably hours away from death-_ infected."

Unfolding his hands, Alan placed his elbow on the armrest of his chair and let his head fall into his waiting palm. "Well, what do _you_ think you should do in that situation?"

Letting out a half-groan, half-sigh, Annie shot him an annoyed look. "If I _knew_ I would have _done_ it, that's why I'm asking, Alan."

"Wasn't this hypothetical?" He asked innocently.

Annie let her head fall against the doorframe, " _Okay_ , but since when is _anything_ a teenager asks _actually_ hypothetical?"

"A valid point." Alan conceded with a little smile.

A moment of silence filled the room as Annie turned her gaze down to the ground. She opened and closed her mouth several times before actual words came out. "I think…" she gave a pause, her brows furrowed as she looked intensely at her feet.

The look of deep concentration on her face made Alan sit up straighter in his seat, sensing that the conversation was turning into something serious. "I think I might wanna start training again." She admitted quietly, her shoulders slumping as though the confession had taken a lot out of her.

He looked at her in surprise, not expecting such a request. At the very most he had expected her to ask for some advice about the next steps to take, or some more information, not to help throw her completely back _into_ the lifestyle.

She shook her head in understanding and pressed on. "I know it's a lot to ask of you, but I really don't have much farther to go." She toed at the hardwood in front of her, losing herself in her own rambling. "I mean, I've pretty much mastered my botanical knowledge and I think that's the hardest thing to accomplish, so I need to just learn how to formally defend myself and learn more creature lore, cause I _literally_ only really know about werewolves, but I _definitely_ know there's more shit out there-"

"Annie." He interrupted her gently, seeing that she was beginning to work herself up.

Her hand flew up to hover over her lips, her eyes widening in realization. "Oh, shit, language. Sorry." She quickly apologized, wincing when she realized she had sworn again.

Alan gave a light laugh and shook his head at her, " _Annie. Yes,_ I'll take over your training." He quickly turned somber though. Standing up, he crossed his arms and walked towards her.

"I want you to be sure about this, though. If you finish training will you dedicate yourself to a pack? What will your next steps be?" He asked, watching her carefully.

Annie pressed her lips together, looking up at her uncle with uncertainty in her eyes. She genuinely didn't know _what_ she wanted. A part of her was just so sick of taking the "don't get involved" approach despite it having been a rule she set for herself. She was a girl of action, albeit _cautious_ , thought out action, but action nonetheless. But at the same time did she think she could just seamlessly jump into the position that put the target on her father's, and subsequently her own family's, back?

She folded her arms close to her chest and glanced back down at her feet. "I… I dunno just yet but… I dunno, I feel like I need to do this, you know?" She admitted quietly.

Alan just stared at her for several moments before sighing and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Okay, that's fine. You don't need to make a decision right now. But… Annie, keep it in mind, okay?"

Annie looked up at him with a small smile and nodded as he let his hand drop and walked back to his chair, leaving her to walk back upstairs. Once she was back in her room, she threw herself back into bed and glanced at the pile of books she had placed beside her before she had taken a nap. She supposed homework would be a good way to divert her attention.

But before she could really get into her _academic mode_ , her gaze shifted to look at her phone. Should she check in with Scott and Stiles? Would that be crossing a line? While she had finally found it within herself that she no longer wanted to _completely_ avoid them, she was pretty sure they wouldn't accept her help with open arms. Especially with, she had to admit, how suspect she had been acting towards the pair. She bit her bottom lip before sighing, realizing she didn't even have Stiles' number. She _could_ ask Allison or even Alan for Scott's, but that would take too much effort. It was probably best to just leave it be for the weekend.

She was _sure_ she'd be able to figure out whether or not the night went well or not depending on how the two of them acted at school on Monday.

* * *

"How do you even _know_ that it's her birthday on Monday? And how'd you get access to the _school_? It's a _Saturday_."

Annie watched with curious (and vaguely suspicious) eyes as Lydia taped up an obscenely colorful birthday card to the inside of Allison's locker. She was holding onto several balloons for Lydia as she continued to vandalize their friend's locker.

"I have my sources." Lydia replied flippantly, refusing to take her eyes off of her task.

Annie pursed her lips and tilted her head in thought. "Wow, that isn't disconcerting at _all_." She said dryly, letting herself fall against the lockers.

Lydia paused and turned her head to give Annie a quick wink. "Don't you worry, honey. You'll be next." she sang, her eyes shining with what could only be described as _excitement_. Something Annie had learned very quickly about Lydia was that she was a _planner_. It was something they had in common, but while Annie made plans out of paranoia and anxiety, Lydia made plans out of ambition and creativity.

And it seemed that _birthdays_ were some of her specialties.

Annie grimaced. She still had about two months before she needed to worry about her birthday, but she already knew that she wasn't going to be up for celebrating it. Sure, she didn't want to put her life completely on hold because of what happened, but it just seemed _wrong_ for her to celebrate without her parents. Maybe next year, but she just knew that it wasn't going to happen this time around.

" _No_ thank you. I don't want anything like th-" Lydia opened her mouth to protest, a pout forming on her lips, just as it always did when Annie refused something Lydia wanted. Lydia usually had some luck in breaking Annie down with a prolonged pout and a fluttering of her eyelashes, but Annie was firm. "I'm _serious_ , Lydia. If I see _one_ balloon on my birthday I'm walking out of school."

Lydia sighed as she grabbed the balloons from Annie's hands. Silence settled between the two of them and Annie took that as a sign that she might have won the argument, but it wasn't even a full minute before Lydia finished stuffing the balloons into the locker and shut it. As she dusted her hands off, she turned to Annie with a bright smile. "So, it's on a weekday? Perfect."

Lydia strutted past her, her heels clicking against the linoleum floors and causing Annie to hang her head and squeeze her eyes shut as she realized she had slipped up.

 _Girl's like a fucking bloodhound._

* * *

"Now _Hoosiers_ is not only the _best_ basketball movie _ever_ , it is _the_ best sports movie _ever_ ma-"

"No."

"It's got Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper."

"No."

"Lydia, I swear to _God_ you're gonna like it."

"No."

"Annie?"

Annie had long zoned out of the conversation considering she had been long forgotten in the backseat of Lydia's tiny car. But the sound of Jackson calling her name snapped her out of her stupor.

She grimaced at the hopeful look Jackson was giving her, as though _she_ could be the one to single-handedly change Lydia's already set mind. "Uh, don't bring me into this, _please_. I'm getting dropped off at home so this doesn't affect me." She shook her head, sinking deeper into the seat.

His nostrils seemed to flair in irritation and he looked at her pointedly, as if to plead with her to just play along. "Look, doesn't the movie sound at least a little bit interesting?" He asked.

Annie held her hands up placatingly. "I'm gonna be completely honest with you, until this very moment I think I've been mixing up _Hoosiers_ and _Hooters_ so I don't think I'm the best person to be asking right now." She gave him a weak smile.

His jaw seemed to fall slack before he shot her a dirty look and shifted his attention back to his calm girlfriend. "I am _not_ watching _The Notebook_ again." He bit at her, his voice rising aggressively.

There was a reason why she often turned down invitations for a ride with both Lydia _and_ Jackson. On their own, they were palatable, Lydia much more so than her jock boyfriend. But together? They made Annie want to hop over Jackson and fling herself out of the tiny window of Lydia's beetle.

But one thing she could _never_ get tired of was Jackson _eventually_ giving into his girlfriend's wishes. Lydia only gave him a challenging look, and with that, the guy flung the passenger side door open and stormed out of the car and into the store, but not without slamming the door hard.

Annie gave a low scoff as she haphazardly crawled over the armrest to fall into the passenger seat. "You guys are so ridiculous." She shook her head as she watched a smile stretch over Lydia's lips. She gave a casual shrug and wordlessly took out her phone and began posing, looking at herself on screen.

Annie let her head fall against the glass of the window for a moment before Lydia's voice broke the silence. "Are you _sure_ you don't wanna just come over?" She asked, pulling her attention away from her phone to look to the side. "I've been _dying_ to do your nails. Like, no offense, I love you and all, but they're the _literal_ worst." She wrinkled her nose as she grabbed Annie's hand and stared at the girl's nails. She still had trace amounts of black nail polish that Lydia was _certain_ had been on her nails since even _before_ she got to Beacon Hills.

The curly haired girl snatched her hand out of Lydia's iron grip and held it close to her chest, as though she were protecting it. "Okay, _first of all,_ in my defense, I garden and work with my hands a lot. Getting a manicure would be the most _pointless_ thing ever." She let her hand fall from her chest and pointed lazily at Lydia. "Second of all, I don't need to witness y'all getting freaky… _again_."

"Don't be such a _prude_."

"I didn't know _not_ wanting to be a voyeur was being a _prude_. But, yeah- _no_. Just drop me off at home before y'all touch each other up."

Lydia only rolled her eyes and continued taking photos of herself. But not even a moment passed before the lights in front of them began flickering, making Annie turn her gaze to the storefront. But it wasn't quite the misbehaving lights that made her feel uneasy, but rather it was the… it was like a _shift_ in the air, something _uncomfortable_. It made her chest feel heavy like the oxygen was being slowly siphoned out of the car.

"Lydia, stay in the car." She muttered distractedly, reaching for the door handle, pulling it and pushing the door open. Stepping out of Lydia's small car, she furrowed her brows as she stared at the dark video store, the lights still flickering intermittently. There was clearly a commotion happening in the store, loud sounds of _heavy_ things falling over caught her attention and set off the beginning of what was becoming the familiar feeling of the fight or flight response.

But it was the sight of ruby red eyes rapidly approaching her that nearly sent her into full cardiac arrest. The glowing eyes got nearer and nearer without any signs of slowing down before the werebeast crashed through the window closest to Lydia. She quickly ducked down, pressing herself into the passenger side door, feeling as though her heart was about to beat out of her chest.

Lydia's scream echoed out around them long after she stopped, causing a ringing in her ears. Or maybe that was just _anxiety_ , she wasn't quite sure, but she wasn't particularly certain that it even _mattered_. Her hand had flown up to clutch instinctively at the vial hanging from her neck.

Annie stood up slowly, her hands and legs shaking as she walked around the front of the car to look into the direction that the creature had run in. She gave a start when she remembered that Jackson was still in the store. Under the guise of checking around Lydia's car, Annie made quick work of unscrewing the little top of the vial and carefully tipping out a neat line of the dark ash within the container.

She finally closed up the circle when she made it back to the front of the car, and quickly screwed the top back onto the vial, appearing as though she were just nervously fidgeting with the piece of jewelry. This way she could at least feel a little relaxed that Lydia was safe if the creature decided to come back.

Shifting her gaze to Lydia's terrified face, she pointed at her friend. "Stay here, Lydia." She ordered, her voice firm and serious despite the absolute fear she felt coursing through her veins. "I'll be right back." She promised.

She ignored Lydia calling after her as she turned and pushed the door of the store open and stepped in, the sound of broken glass crunching underneath her heeled boots.

"Jackson?" She called out cautiously, her hands shaking as she walked further into the store.

An unsettling silence filled the destroyed store. Bookshelves were toppled over and she had to step over a ladder that had been knocked to the ground. She shifted her gaze to the left and the sight that greeted her drew out a startled scream from her. Her hand flew up quickly to press against her mouth as she looked down and stared at who _had_ to be the clerk who had been working tonight.

There was a split second of a moment where she just _couldn't_ tear her eyes away from the store clerk. The deep claw marks that stretched across his neck sent her into a fresh memory that was burned into her mind, one that she faced nearly every night.

" _-elp me, Emery!_ What's _wrong_ with you?"

Jackson's strained voice wrenched her violently out of her stupor and made her whip her head to the right where she finally spotted him, trapped dangerously under a heavy looking bookshelf.

Annie pushed herself to walk away from the clerk, there was _definitely_ nothing she could do for him now, but she _could_ do something for Jackson. She slipped through the tiny space between the bookshelf that had fallen on Jackson and the one that had toppled over like a domino right in front of it. Placing her hands firmly on the top edge of the one trapping Jackson, she strained to try and pull it up even an inch off of him. After a solid minute, her muscles ached painfully, but to no avail, it didn't budge.

 _C'mon, Emery! Make yourself useful for once_ , _you piece of shit!_

Jackson let out a loud groan of pain and it was that sound that struck something within her. This shelf was pinning the guy down _badly,_ and if it wasn't taken off he ran the risk of _serious_ damage. She knew all too well what that could do to someone, and while she and Jackson butted heads _often_ , she didn't think he _deserved_ to have his life dramatically changed because of a freak incident.

She felt a violent tug somewhere behind her navel making her double over in pain but it was as though there was some kind of shift within her. Not a moment later did the bookshelf seem to just… _flip_ over in her hands, flying up into the air and landing with a loud crash several feet away from them.

She breathed heavily, her eyes wide with panicked awe. Jackson sat up slowly, looking at her with just as much alarm and drawing her attention to him.

"Wh-How di-"

She bent at the waist, feeling the effects of her actions beginning to take a toll. Placing her hands on her knees, she shook her head and interrupted him. "Adrenaline… makes you do crazy things." She panted in a sorry sort of explanation, blinking quickly as she swayed for a moment. Squeezing her eyes shut, she shook her head once more to try and clear it before she reopened them. Standing straight up once more, she stumbled over to Jackson.

Bending down, she did her best to hoist him up, lifting his arm and wrapping it around her shoulders and trying to drag him up. Considering their size difference and the fact that she was doing her fair share of staggering about, they did a rather graceful job of making their way back to Lydia who was still sitting in the car, her eyes wide and panicked.

Letting Jackson lean against the hood of Lydia's car, she walked towards the direction in which the alpha ran, body tense as though it would jump out at them from the shadows.

Swallowing down her nausea, she allowed herself to sink to the ground not caring much about the pieces of glass that littered the surrounding area, simultaneously taking out of her phone and dialing _911_. As the phone rang, she turned her gaze to look into the darkened store and let out a heavy sigh.

" _911, what's your emergency?"_

"Uh- yeah, hi? Um, there's been…" What _was_ this? She couldn't say a _murder_. Murder implied that another human did this and if any cameras were in the area, they'd probably pick up on a not so _human_ thing. Not to mention whatever Jackson and Lydia would say. It was best to just stay as vague as possible and let the police come up with their own conclusions. "...there's been a death…"

* * *

Sitting in the back of an ambulance with a shock blanket around her shoulders wasn't exactly how she pictured her night going.

Lydia was sitting beside her, her head bent as she stared at the ground and Jackson stood in front of them, pacing in irritation. Lydia hadn't spoken a word since she had first screamed and called after Annie when she ran into the store, but no one could bring themselves to blame her.

The initial questioning wasn't very hard. Jackson, ever the boss, took the reigns in explaining what happened to them. Annie didn't mind, she could play the part of _scared and shocked teenage girl incapable of talking to authority figures_ just fine. That, and having just one person tell the story, especially one who wasn't aware of the actual _details_ of what was going on was probably for the best. At least now, she could be sure that she didn't accidentally let something slip.

But now, they were hesitant to let them leave. Understandable, considering they were the only live witnesses, but everyone was getting antsy, especially now that the commotion had gathered a crowd.

Annie kept her attention on Jackson's pacing before finally opening her mouth and speaking. "How are your legs?" She asked.

Jackson stopped pacing and narrowed his eyes at her. "I was just _pinned_ by a bookshelf, how do you _think_ they are?"

She clenched her jaw and narrowed her own eyes at him in a responding challenge. "And _I_ just pulled your ass out from under it, _so_ maybe a little less attitude and a little more gratitude?" She hissed back, bringing her knees closer to her chest as she wrapped her arms around her shins, tightening the blanket around her shoulders.

He only scoffed at her and continued pacing for several more minutes. She turned her attention back to Lydia, who was still staring at the ground in front of them, eyes wide open but unseeing. They were glazed over and it was clear that she was dazed.

"Why the hell can't I just go home? I'm _fine_."

At the sound of Jackson's aggressive complaint, Annie's head snapped to look at him. He was standing close to a familiar figure, a look of anger on his face while Sheriff Stilinski's face only conveyed practiced calmness as he tried to placate the incensed teenage boy.

"I hear ya, but the EMT says you hit your head pretty hard." He tried to reason. "They just wanna make sure you don't have a concussion." He soothed.

"What part of ' _I'm fine_ ' are you having a problem grasping? Okay? I wanna go _home_." Jackson spat back.

Annie sighed and let the shock blanket fall from her shoulders, pausing only to take the blanket into her hands and wrap it around Lydia's front so that she was completely covered in warmth. Lydia finally moved, looking up slightly so that their eyes met. Annie offered a soft smile and squeezed the other girl's arm as best as she could with the two thick blankets covering her.

"And I understand that." She heard the Sheriff try again.

"No, you don't _understand_." Jackson snapped. Annie turned around and walked over to the two, coming up behind Jackson right when he really let loose on the poor Sheriff. "Which kind of blows my mind since it should be a pretty basic concept to grasp for a minimum-wage rent-a-cop like you! Now, I wanna go _home_!"

She placed a hand on the guy's shoulder. " _Jackson_ , we _all_ wanna go home. Your shitty attitude isn't going to help accomplish that." He spun around to look at her with a caustic glare in his eyes. She only raised a challenging eyebrow at him before he once again scoffed. He grabbed her wrist tightly and shoved it off his shoulder.

"Oh, _woah_ , is that a dead body?" The familiar voice belonging to one Stiles Stilinski rang out through the night air, attracting everyone's attention to the kid and subsequently to where he was pointing.

The paramedics were rolling out a stretcher, a sheet carefully placed over what she knew to be the clerk's body. But, as if on cue, as everyone's gazes shifted to look at the stretcher, the clerk's bloody, lifeless arm fell off the side.

The Sheriff turned to glare at his son but quickly turned his attention to the crowd that had begun to congregate closer to the stretcher. "Everybody back up. _Back up_." He ushered.

Jackson helped Lydia off the back of the ambulance, the shock blankets falling off her body as he guided her away from the emergency vehicle. As the paramedics worked to get the clerk's body into the ambulance the Sheriff turned to look at her. Annie couldn't help but notice that he had the same calculating gaze that Stiles had, or rather Stiles had the same one his _father_ had. Either way, the resemblance, was uncanny.

"So you were the one to call it in?" He asked, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a little notebook and a pen.

She gave him a single nod. "Yes, sir."

"Has someone taken a statement from you?"

Once again, she nodded. Lifting her chin to the left, she gestured to the deputy who was helping to keep the crowd at bay. "I don't remember her name, but she's the one that took it." He nodded and offered an understanding smile.

"I know it's been a long night, but would you mind explaining just one last time what happened here?"

A part of her wondered what would happen if she _did_ say she minded. She'd probably only be called in for questioning at a later time and if she were being completely honest with herself, that was probably _way_ worse than just recounting the story one more time.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Like I told the other officer, we got here and nothing seemed all that suspicious. I remember seeing some flickering lights, but like… it didn't seem like it was anything to worry about, you know?" She paused for a moment, watching as the man nodded along to her explanation of the night's events. "Um, Jackson was the only one in there and he had been inside for a while so I got out to check on him. But then I heard glass breaking and I ducked behind the car. I didn't see anything, sorry."

He sighed and nodded before taking a closer look at the girl. In the nicest terms possible, she looked _wrecked_. She was blinking quickly as if she were losing a battle to stay awake, and while she was trying to hide it, her hands were shaking rather violently. Glancing up to look at the other two teens, even from a distance, he could see that they weren't exactly in the best shape.

Not seeing a point in keeping them any longer, he looked back down at the curly haired girl. "What did you say your full name was?"

Grimacing, she shook her head. "Uh, I didn't..." Pursing her lips slightly, she sighed, "It's um, Anisa Emery. A-n-i-s-a. Pretty sure that officer got it, so… you know where to find me."

She had a strong love-hate relationship with her name. It truly was _beautiful_ , _and_ it was sentimental, as it doubled as the name of her paternal grandmother.

 _But_ , growing up in a town where she could count the number of other people of color on _one_ hand was bound to create some embarrassing _pronunciation_ errors among other _unique_ experiences (to put it _mildly_ ). Ever since Mr. Allen absolutely _butchered_ her name on the first day of sixth grade, she had been stuck with the unfortunate moniker of _Anus_ Emery, which served as quite the blow to a developing pre-teen girl, and it had only been when she got to her freshman year that people didn't find it quite as funny as it had in middle school.

 _Lucky_ for her. But ever since then, she had had a bit of _distaste_ for introducing herself with her full name. Or at least, not until she could truly gauge that the person she was talking to had a full appreciation for her name, anyways.

"Pretty name." The Sheriff's genuine comment brought her out of her mental ramblings, making her offer him a weak smile and a soft word of thanks before her gaze shifted to Lydia and Jackson, standing close together.

Turning back to him, she crossed her arms. "I don't want to sound like Jackson, but _could_ we go home? It's getting really late and I'm sure both Jackson and Lydia could use some rest."

He looked at her for a moment before looking at the other two teens in the background. "We're going to have to keep that car, is it yours?"

Lydia probably wouldn't be too happy about that, but considering none of them were in particularly _good_ shape to drive, what with Lydia in completely shock, Jackson with a bad concussion and her feeling like someone had sucked all the energy out of her body, it was probably a good thing that the car would have to stay anyways.

She shook her head,"Lydia's."

"Alright, we'll get a deputy to take the three of you home. We might have to get in touch with you again, though." He warned.

That was fine with her. So long as they got away from _here_ and _now_. She didn't care what happened after that.

* * *

"You're home late, did you finally commit to being a rebellious teen?"

The sound of Alan's sarcastic drawl greeted her almost the minute she walked in through the door. He was sitting on the stairs, keys in his left hand, as though he were about to go out and drive around looking for her. A part of her was touched that he had been _that_ worried, then again, he had every reason to.

"Alan, uh- something happened." She said, leaning against the closed door as she let her hand rise to rub at her forehead.

His joking manner melted away almost immediately as her serious tone registered in his mind."What?"

She let herself sink to the ground as her fatigue caught up with her. "We were attacked by the werewolf." She grimaced.

" _We?_ "

Annie nodded, "Jackson, Lydia, and me. I mean, we're all _okay_. Jackson is concussed and Lydia is really shaken up but-"

"And how are you?" He interrupted, looking at her with cautious eyes.

Annie shook her head and pressed on. " _I'm fine_." She predictably answered. "Nothing happened to me. But that's not the point. Someone's _dead_. Throat slashed." She reported.

There was something in her tone that made Alan look even closer at her. Her voice sounded almost _detached_ like she was trying her very hardest to separate herself from any kind of emotion she felt. Considering her habit of doing just that, Alan wouldn't have been surprised if she was just falling back on her habit of compartmentalizing. Just as he prepared to ask if she _really_ was okay, Annie spoke up once more.

"I did it again…"

He furrowed his brows in confusion. "What?"

She pressed her lips together. How did she even go about _explaining_ it? No one actually _knew_ what it was. " _It_ , the- the _thing_!" She settled on, grimacing at how unhelpful her words were. "The _make things move_ with my _mind_ thing."

Alan shook his head slightly,"That seems like an… _oversimplification_ for what's happening."

Tilting her head, Annie set her arms on the tops of her knees,"Okay, _Doctor Deaton_." She challenged. "What's your professional, _scientifically sound_ explanation?"

He sighed and folded his hands together, furrowing his brows as he looked down at her on the ground. His lips parted several times as he tried to come up with an explanation good enough to even say out loud. Finally, he seemed to have settled on something. "You seem to be … highly in tune with the energies around you." He started off slowly. "When you feel threatened, it's something like a reflex. If I were to tap your knee with a rubber mallet, you'd kick. I think this is more or less the same thing."

"Okay, so what I got from _that_ bullshitty explanation is that I have a _telekinetic reflex_?" She asked dryly, not looking very impressed.

He gave her a half-shrug. "If that's what you want to call it."

She huffed in exasperation and threw her hands up. "Well, I don't know _what_ to call it! I don't know what this _is_! Or how I _got_ it, or how long I've _had_ it. And evidently, _you_ don't either!" She finished, letting her hands fall to her sides, her palms pressed flat against the ground.

Alan only looked at her apologetically, causing her to sigh and shake her head."You know what? Never mind." She stood up hastily, swaying slightly on her feet as she leaned against the door. "I am _tired._ My whole body _aches_ and I feel like I'm about to pass out so, I'm just gonna go to bed." She announced.

Her uncle nodded and followed her lead, standing and freeing up the staircase for her."Yes, I think that's a good idea. We can talk about this later."

"G'night, Alan." She gave him a tight smile and stumbled up the stairs.

He smiled back at her, "Good night, Annie." He kept the smile on his lips until he was sure she was out of range. Then, he dropped it completely, looking up the stairs she had just climbed, making sure she was gone before a troubled look crossed his features.

* * *

omg okay so i cannot believe that i've gone this long without writing up an author's note saying hello or like, introducing myself or anything so lmao better late than never, right? i just wanna take this time to just thank each and every one of you, truly, from the very bottom of my heart for the support that has come in so many different forms. from a simply follow to a review, i cherish each and every one of you, like seriously you guys totally inspire me!

i also wanna specifically give a _huge_ shout out to the following people who have left _incredible_ reviews that have left me with a legitimate artist's high every single time i read them! vortexFM, Galanerd, YoupalMoony, anarchxst, SusieSamurai, Cerulean Musings, RandomFandoming. Each one of these incredible people have written stories of their own, and i could literally go into hour long sessions of just spouting love about their creativity and ocs and plots lines and UGH! they're all just so good, I truly would not be able to do them justice unless you checked out each person and their stories, I promise you will not regret it! Also a huge shout out to DeityOfDeadlyRose, Ellixwolf, KiyUzumaki! Your reviews made me smile and really inspired me to keep writing and keep hammering away even when i felt a little too lazy to do a lot (which happens a little too often)

thank you so much everyone, i love you all! (also lmao apologies for grammar/misspellings it's almost 3am and i just needed to get this out there but that's what rewrites are for, am i right?). If you wanna check out any extra stuff about Annie, head over to my tumblr musiciatee! also drop in and ask me anything, i love talking to you all!


	6. Hiraeth

After the excitement that came with being at the scene of a murder, Annie wasn't quite sure that anything could surpass her Saturday night. She had woken up much later than she had anticipated on Sunday. It was the first time she had slept past six in the morning since she had moved to Beacon Hills. Not that she was _complaining_ , she had once been a person who _adored_ their fair share of sleep, not to mention the fact that she had been utterly _exhausted_.

It wasn't very surprising though. Since before she had passed out to after she had woken up, she had been unable to get the events of what happened out of her head.

What she had done with that bookcase had only been the second time she could _remember_ that she had done something like that. The first having been the events that changed her life completely only several months ago. But in both cases, she had found herself completely drained of energy. The first time had been under more pressing circumstances and she had apparently been unconscious for nearly a day and a half before waking up to her new reality.

Waking up at two-thirty in the afternoon, in comparison, was _definitely_ preferred.

Considering she had pretty much slept through her Sunday, Annie could confidently say that the rest of the weekend would be completely uneventful.

Lydia seemingly refused to pick up her phone, or even send a ' _hey, I'm okay_!' text, which drove Annie to just walk over there Sunday night and ask to see her.

Needless to say, Annie hadn't ever thought that she'd see the girl looking so haggard in her lifetime. It had her feeling _so_ concerned for her, though. In people's' minds, Lydia was the _epitome_ of collected. It was almost impossible to think of the girl losing her shit, but there she was, hiding under her covers with tear-tracked makeup still on her face. She left the Martin residence not feeling very reassured that Lydia would be totally okay on her own, but at her own insistence, she left to go home and finish up Allison's birthday gift.

And then, _suddenly_ it was Monday morning. Alan had asked if she wanted to stay home from school, but that was probably the very last thing she needed. She had already missed enough school because of what happened back in Maine and she was _totally_ unwilling to miss any more. And anyway, she hadn't been injured and she was _fine_.

Definitely _freaked out_ and probably dealing with several unaddressed traumas, but then again, what _else_ was new?

Annie arrived at school just in time to catch Allison at her locker, moments after she opened it. The multitude of balloons that Lydia had impressively fit into the tiny locker all flowed out of it. Allison responded with absolute alarm, shoving the balloons back in, but failing spectacularly. She let out a heavy sigh and looked at the colorful card.

Annie rushed over to her friend with a sympathetic expression on her face. "Hey, I'm _really_ sorry about all this." She waved her left hand around vaguely.

"I was just gonna give you your gift but Lydia threatened my life if I didn't help her, and I'm not gonna lie, she kinda scares me so… Happy Birthday." She cut herself off before she started rambling and held out a little paper bag with purple ribbon threaded through holes at the top as handles.

It was clear the bag was handmade and Allison, despite her displeasure towards the surprise, accepted the bag with a reluctant smile. Peeking down, Allison's brows furrowed as she pulled out a little jar with _'Happy Birthday'_ written in loopy, black sharpie. Looking up, she met Annie's sheepish expression with a question in her eyes.

Her left hand flew to rub the back of her neck as she nodded her chin towards the little bag. "I uh- noticed you had a lot of vanilla scented things in your room and you had mentioned a while ago that you had wanted to start a new skin routine or something so I just... made that." She rocked back onto her heels and dropped her hand. "It's basically that vanilla and walnut scrub you mentioned you wanted to get. The uh- the walnuts took _forever_ to grind so you're gonna use it whether you like it or not." She joked, raising a hand to point at the jar.

Allison blinked at her before looking down at the jar in her hand. "You _made_ this?" She asked incredulously.

Annie nodded, a little smile playing on her lips. "Yeah, it wasn't hard. I used to make stuff like this all the time, but I haven't had a chance to start up again. So, I should actually be thanking _you_ for giving me an excuse." Her little smile grew as Allison gave another laugh of disbelief. Annie pointed at the bag. "There are some more things in there, but yeah, happy birthday."

Allison sighed and shook her head, carefully placing the jar back into the bag and then shoving it into her locker for safe keeping. She turned and promptly wrapped her arms around her friend. Annie smiled into Allison's shoulder as she hugged the birthday girl back. "You're so swee-" Allison began to say before a familiar voice interrupted her from behind.

"Is today your birthday?"

Allison let go of Annie and whipped around to face Scott, a _deer-caught-in-the-headlights_ look overtaking her expression.

She was quick to shake her head in vehement denial. "Uh- no, no, _nope._ I mean, _yes_." She finally conceded with a heavy sigh. She looked at Scott with wide, pleading eyes. "Please don't tell anybody. I don't even know how _Lydia_ found out." She turned to Annie, as though she had the answer, but she slumped slightly as Annie responded with a shake of her head and a shrug.

Scott's eyes were wide with hurt."Why wouldn't you tell me?" He asked, his tone full of confusion.

Allison sighed and tapped anxiously on the door of her locker. "Because I don't want people to know. Because… I'm seventeen." She dropped her voice at her confession.

"You're _seventeen_?" Scott repeated incredulously at a much louder volume than Allison would have liked.

Her panic filled expression dropped into one of great irritation. "That's the reaction I'm trying to avoid." She narrowed her eyes at him and turned back to close her locker.

"Why? I mean, I-I totally get it. Uh- you had to repeat a year because of all the moving around, right?" He asked, eyes wide with curiosity.

Allison didn't say anything, but only leaned in to give him a deep kiss, making Annie grimace and wrinkle her nose. " _Okay_ , and _that_ is my cue to leave. I'll see you later, Ally." She turned without waiting for a response and simply made her way to homeroom before her first class.

As much as she had issues with Scott, she couldn't deny the kid was _sweet_. She supposed if she had to choose a guy who was having a supernatural crisis for her friend to date, she would've have settled on McCall.

Of course, it probably would've been _preferable_ to avoid _any_ kind of supernatural crises of any kind, _but_ she was long used to not getting her way.

* * *

Walking into chemistry hadn't been _weird_ until Mr. Harris pulled her to the side before she could take her usual seat.

"If you need to leave during class, just let me know." He looked at her seriously. She blinked, not having predicted that kind of compassionate behavior from the teacher. Harris wasn't exactly known to be the fairest _or_ most understanding teacher at Beacon High, Nevertheless, she pressed her lips together in some kind of mix of a grimace and a smile

"Uh, sure… thanks, sir." She nodded awkwardly before continuing back on her path towards her seat.

It didn't take very long for the rest of the class to fill in and for Harris to resume his classic apathetic persona. Once most of the seats were filled in, he dragged his cool gaze from one pupil to the next before speaking to them all in a detached drawl. "Just a friendly reminder that parent/teacher conferences are tonight. Any students below a 'C' average are _required_ to attend. I won't _name_ you, because the shame and self-disgust should be more than enough punishment."

A good majority of the students in the class glanced around shiftily, either to see if anyone showcased the shame Harris mentioned or to see if anyone was in the same boat as they were.

"Has anyone seen Scott McCall?" At Harris's question, Annie's looked up from her notebook where she began to doodle in the corner of a fresh page. The corners of her mouth pulled down in a slight frown.

She had _just_ seen Scott. How could he have gotten lost between when she had seen him and _now_? She twisted in her seat to try and catch Stiles' eye, only to just see his bent head as he furiously highlighted paragraphs of the textbook. Harris moved towards Stiles, probably with the same thought process she had. If anyone would know what was happening with Scott at any moment of the day, it'd _probably_ be Stilinski.

The whole class's attention was diverted to the front of the room when Jackson walked in late. He gave steely glares to anyone who stared too blatantly at him and completely avoided looking at her. A part of her felt regret at not checking in with the guy after Saturday night. She had been too preoccupied with her own messy thoughts and making sure Lydia wasn't _completely_ losing it that she hadn't thought to spare a moment to call Jackson and see how he was doing.

Well, considering he was in chemistry at eight thirty in the morning, she figured he was as fine as he _could_ be.

Harris moved closer to Jackson's seat and began speaking in hushed tones with him, letting Annie take the chance to slip out her phone, intending to text Allison to see if she knew where Scott was. If Stiles didn't know, Allison probably _would_ , and if she didn't then Annie figured that perhaps there was something a little more _unnatural_ at play. But as soon as she pressed the home button on her phone, waking it up, she found a text waiting for her _from_ Allison.

' _Will explain later. With Scott. Cover for me? :)'_

Annie didn't have all that many classes with Allison. Just English and Geometry, but she _did_ appreciate that Allison had given her a heads up, especially with the direction her thoughts were taking. An MIA Scott and an MIA Allison two days after an alpha attack didn't quite spell out _a good time_ in her mind, but knowing that Allison had gone out with her own volition and of her own knowing put Annie's troubled mind at ease. Not to mention, she doubted Scott would let any harm come to that girl, although she still had her doubts about his self-control.

Her mind's whirlwind of thoughts simmered down if only just a bit as Harris strode up to the front of the class, and she quickly hid away her phone. "Everyone, start reading chapter nine…" He instructed. Then, he stopped in his tracks, placing his hands on his hips while still facing away from the class. "Mr. Stilinski, try putting the highlighter down between paragraphs. It's _chemistry_ , not a _coloring book_."

She did a rather terrible job at forcing down her smile. Her lips twisted slightly before she pressed them together and shifted her focus to take out her textbook and flipping the pages to the requested chapter. It was never really cool for a teacher to just blatantly call out a student like that, even _if_ the student was Stilinski.

But she had to admit. It _was_ kind of funny.

The in-class humor ended right there as class proceeded normally, a silence settling over the students while they got to reading. Until, of course, Stiles' low voice reached her ears. She did nothing to suppress her irritated eye roll as she listened to him ask Danny, who was only a row behind her, questions he wasn't exactly _enthralled_ to answer.

Granted, she had to give Stiles some props for his perseverance, _and_ the fact that he seemed to have learned his lesson about speaking a little more quietly when he was trying to do some digging. It was during these moments that she was envious of a werewolf's ability to hear.

She could only pick up snippets of his questions, and even when she turned her body slightly under the guise of stretching and simply settling into a new position, she couldn't hear exactly what he was asking Danny.

" _What_?" Danny asked, his voice rising in frustration, causing several students to turn to look at him.

"Do you find me attractive?" Annie looked up from her textbook and furrowed her brows in confusion. That was _not_ where she thought their conversation had been. She only glanced over her shoulder when she heard a loud crash, only to reveal that Stiles had fallen out of his seat and caused several of his things to fall off the table.

Rolling her eyes, she shook her head and turned her attention back to the assignment. If what he had been asking Danny really was important, she had no doubt that it'd come up again in one way or another. But for now, there wasn't much she could do other than reading about _Molecular Geometries and Bonding Theories_.

The class moved faster than she expected it would, perhaps because they didn't have to listen to Harris's dry and monotonous voice for a straight lecture for fifty minutes, _thankfully_. As much as she really did enjoy chemistry as a subject, one could only take so much of Harris before they could feel their own souls leaving their bodies.

The bell signaled for them to leave and Annie was quick to scoop up her things into her arms. As she walked towards the door, Harris once again singled her out for the second time that day. She sighed to herself but walked up to where he sat, hands folded in front of himself on his desk.

"Ms. Emery, while you seem to be doing well in class, I think it'd be a good idea for you to attend the conferences tonight." She stared at him blankly, unsure of what to say exactly in response. "Just to check in due to your… circumstances." He continued.

 _Right_ …

She should have seen this coming if she were being honest with herself. She wouldn't be surprised if other teachers _advised_ her to do the same. Once again pressing her lips together into an awkward half-grimace, half-smile, she gave him a single nod and nothing else. Without waiting for any other response, she turned and quickly made her way to her locker before her next class.

Was it rude? Definitely. Was she particularly fussed? Not really. Especially if she was going to have to sit through a night of her teachers talking about her progress _despite everything she was dealing with_.

She could almost _smell_ the pity.

* * *

It looked like lunch was going to shape up to be a quiet affair. With Allison completely MIA with Scott, and Lydia opting to stay home from school, she felt completely alone. She was sitting at her usual table, a textbook laid out in front of her and her tray of food situated to her left.

 _You need more people to hang out with, Emery._

" _Hey!_ "

 _Nope, nevermind, you're totally fine on your own._

At the sound of Stiles' drawn out, overly-excited greeting, Annie dragged her gaze away from her biology book and stared expectantly at him. She sighed heavily, as though she were _beyond_ tired. "What do you want?" She asked shortly, staring at him steadily.

He looked affronted at the abrupt question. " _What_? I can't just say hi to uh- you?" He asked weakly, holding his tray of food in one hand while using the other to gesture vaguely to her whole person.

She shook her head firmly. "Not the way you said it. You want something." She said confidently, narrowing her eyes at him as she leaned back into her seat and crossed her arms.

His brows furrowed as he looked down at her. "I'm _offended_ that you think I don't want to just say hello to you… a fellow… colleague." He trailed off lamely, wincing at his own words.

Well, at least he seemed a _little_ self-aware.

Rolling her eyes, she gestured to the empty seat across from her. "Stiles, either _sit down_ and tell me what you want or _shut up_ and go away."

He blinked before setting his tray down rather loudly, making her grimace and watch him with wariness in her eyes. He quickly and clumsily dragged the seat out and settled down into it. "Do you know where Lydia is?" He asked, leaning forwards, curiosity burning in his expression.

Leaning back in her seat, Annie let the seat tip backward until it was balancing on the back two legs. "And here _I_ was thinking you wanted my _company_." She schooled her expression into one that seemed _crestfallen_ , making him sit up straighter and widen his eyes, momentary panic making its way to his eyes as he tried to figure out whether or not she was being serious.

"Oh, how could I have been so _foolish_?" She continued dramatically before reaching for the apple on her own tray and biting into it with a shrug. "Just kidding, I really don't care." She mumbled as she chewed, her other hand flying up to hide her mouth.

He rubbed at his forehead as he slumped down in his seat and gave her an annoyed look. "Is giving a straightforward answer _that_ hard for you?"

She took a moment to swallow before giving him a grin. "Yup." She answered, watching with a bit of satisfaction as he squinted at her and sank deeper into his seat.

A moment of awkward silence made only more awkward by the fact that the rest of the cafeteria around them was bustling with sound and energy, passed between them before she sighed and gave in. "She's at home." She answered shortly before looking back down at her book.

Stiles sat up slightly at her response, his interest obviously piqued. "Do… you know why?" He asked hesitantly, obviously preparing himself for another one of her purposefully dumb replies.

She took a moment to swallow before looking at him as though she were impressed with him. "Wow, I'm surprised. I would've expected her _stalker_ to know what's going on." She lifted her gaze momentarily, giving him a pointed look.

A look of genuine offense crossed his features. He leaned back like he was trying to put distance between himself and her. "Sta- I am _not_ her _stalker_!" He sputtered out. "I just… admire her from afar and that's _only_ cause I think she forgets I exist sometimes and _I_ respect boundaries."

She couldn't help the loud snort that made several people turn to look at her. She slapped a hand over her mouth as she looked at his flat, unamused expression. "I'm sorry, you said ' _I respect boundaries'_ and I think that's _the_ funniest thing you've ever said to me." She tried to hide a grin.

The grin slowly melted away as she remembered his original question, and she quickly sobered up. Leaning in, she looked at him meaningfully. "Look, _Stilinski_. I know I saw you in your dad's cruiser on Saturday. I _know_ you were there and I _know_ you know what happened, so… what details are you trying to worm out of people?" She asked, getting straight to her suspicions.

As fun as it was to toy with him, she would be wasting her own time as well as his if they kept on playing the weird game that had seemed to develop between herself and him and Scott.

He narrowed his eyes at her sudden, brusque manner, his demeanor shifting almost immediately as he too leaned forward. "Well, what do _you_ know? 'Cause it seems like it's a _whole_ lot more than you're letting on." He accused.

She simply observed him in silence for a moment, her eyes boring into him before she leaned back into her seat, her index finger tapping a steady beat on the edge of the textbook in front of her as she looked at him coolly. "Well, the niece of the resident vet is bound to pick up some insight into wild animal behaviors." She said casually, looking at him carefully.

They stared at one another in tense silence. Stiles kept puffing up a bit like he was preparing to debate her, or just call her out loudly in the middle of the cafeteria. Instead, he twisted his lips together in frustration and forcefully exhaled through his nostrils.

" _Fine_." He muttered, ending the conversation by reaching down to his tray and shoving several french fries into his mouth. She turned her gaze back down, a half-smile playing at her lips without her completely realizing.

Annie would have been perfectly content to sit in silence until the lunch period was over, but that was apparently _way_ too much to ask of her newest companion. Stiles probably held out for as long as he could, but the minute he started tapping rapidly on the table and then bouncing his leg so vigorously that his knee kept hitting the table, she knew the quiet wouldn't last for much longer.

"What's that?" His voice broke the silence.

She sighed and glanced back up. "What's what?" She asked tiredly, only receiving a vague gesture in response. He lifted his hand and pointed to her left arm.

Furrowing her brows, she looked down at her arm and then back up at him. "A… _wrist_?" She answered dubiously.

He rolled his eyes, his hands splaying out on either side of his tray as he nodded towards her wrist. "I _know_ that, _smartass_. What's _on_ your wrist?"

Now that he thought of it, Annie hadn't worn much to reveal her arms in the time that he had known her, which granted, hadn't been _all_ that long. That, and he doubted he even would have _noticed_ had they not been the only two people at the table. It had only been by chance that she rolled her sleeves up to reveal half her forearms.

Annie frowned slightly as she looked at him with slight confusion. "A _tattoo_?" The subject change had been so abrupt that Annie didn't quite know what to make of it.

Stiles sighed heavily and raised a hand to rub his forehead. "Look, I'm trying my hardest to make some small talk, here. It'd be _great_ if you just humored me." His irritation was almost palpable, and he really _hoped_ she could feel it.

It wasn't very often a high school sophomore walked around adorning any kind of tattoo. And considering it belonged to someone as… _mysterious_ as Annie, he figured maybe it could give some insight into her background. Annie's voice brought him out of his own thoughts.

" _Why_?" She asked before she could stop herself, her tone conveying how _perplexed_ she was.

He half-shrugged, popping another fry into his mouth."'Cause you're best friends with Allison who's dating Scott, who is _my_ best friend." He mumbled as he chewed, just as she had done several minutes ago, but unlike her, he did nothing to try and hide the potato in his mouth.

She made a sound of mock agreement and nodded, "And I'm _also_ best friends with _Lydia_ , who you apparently need exclusive information on."

He scratched at the top of his head, looking at her like he didn't know what to make of her. "Are you always this suspicious of everyone?"

"Are you always this interrogative?" She countered back.

He nodded seriously, "I'm unrelenting. _Plus_ , I know nothing about you, if you're going to be around, I'd like to know what I'm dealing with."

 _That_ was a lot more honest than she had been expecting. It seemed like he was getting ready to stop playing games. "Great." She replied dryly.

He grinned and nodded before looking back down at the ink on her wrist. "So? What does it mean?"

Annie observed him for a moment. It didn't seem like he was trying to antagonize her. _Nor_ did it seem like he was just gearing up to make fun of her, something Jackson undoubtedly would have done.

Pursing her lips for a moment, she finally just let herself. Stretching her arm out so that her wrist laid between them, she let her right hand trace the symbol. He filed the shape of it away in the back of his mind, making a mental note to look it up later and see if he could find anything.

The tattoo was rather small, laying to the right, rather than right in the center, of her wrist. "It's a Celtic symbol, a triquetra. It means different things to different people 'cause the three points can encompass so many meanings." She explained, her finger still tracing over it.

"What does it mean for you?"

 _That_ was a good question.

"It used to represent the connection between mind, body, and soul. The circle in the middle served as a symbol of protection, tying everything together." She said, pointing to each of the points before looking up. "Now, I think it means life, death, and rebirth." She admitted, vaguely realizing that it was the first time she had actually thought about it. "It's a constant cycle. No beginning, no end. The circle still represents protection, though."

He nodded along to her explanation, looking as though he were _really_ listening. Either he was a _great_ actor or he was actually serious about wanting to know her. Which perhaps he only wanted to do to gauge if she was actually to be distrusted, but _still_.

Pointing to her hand, he looked at her inquisitively, "So, what's that one?" He asked, looking at the seven thin tally marks on the side of her left middle finger.

She quickly took her hand off the table, retracting it as fast as she could and hiding it in her lap under the table. Her response to his question made him flinch in alarm. Any sort of genuineness that had been in her features and body language was gone, replaced with the familiar cool, nonchalance she carried with her.

"Sorry, Stilinski, you'll have to work a little harder to know about _that_ one." She said, scooting her chair back and standing up. Gathering her book into her arms, she grabbed her tray and started shuffling out of their row. "Good luck with your _Martin_ investigation. Don't get caught, Lydia's the litigious type."

With that, she left Stiles sitting by himself, staring after her with furrowed brows and a slightly gaping mouth.

* * *

As Annie stood outside the Martin residence, she anxiously fiddled with the strap of her bag, simply waiting for someone to get the door. Now that the day was winding down, now that she didn't have to figure out the latest stoichiometry problem Harris put up on the board, or think about allegories in Shakespeare's plays, now that she had nothing a _normal_ teenage girl would usually worry about at the forefront of her mind, she was left to think about the elephant in the room… _werewolf_ in the room?

Either way, it kind of felt like _something_ unnecessarily heavy was suffocating her violently.

The close encounter with that alpha had shaken her to her core, much more than she was truly willing to admit. She hadn't exactly given herself enough to time to sit and process what had happened.

The moment she had gotten home Saturday night, she had quite literally passed out the minute she made it to her room. _Then_ , she hadn't woken up until much later the next day. But then she preoccupied herself with how Lydia was faring, never giving herself time to think about herself.

Annie wasn't _that_ fussed though, there was no reason to think about the fact that the alpha had killed someone only several feet away from where they were. _No reason_. Nope. _Nada_.

She eagerly pushed the vaguely panicked thoughts away before she sent herself into an actual breakdown in front of Lydia's house.

Looking around the familiar yard from the porch, she realized that she had been to Lydia's house _way_ more than Lydia had been to hers. Since the moment they met, Lydia had just offered up her place as a meeting spot for the two of them to congregate before setting off to do whatever activity Lydia had planned for them. On one hand, she felt kind of bad, did that imply an unequal partaking in the relationship?

She was probably just looking way too deeply into it.

And _anyway_ , knowing her luck she'd probably forget to put away a decades-old book about supernatural creatures or something for Lydia to find on the floor of her bedroom. It was best to just _avoid_ any of _that_.

As the door opened up, revealing Lydia's mom, Annie shoved her rambling thoughts to the back of her mind. "Hey, Mrs. Martin, I uh- I was just… I wanted to see how Lydia was doing? I've been texting her all day and I just started calling her, but she hasn't been picking up."

The woman's expression softened significantly, her stressed features smoothing out immediately. Opening the door wide open, she gestured for her to enter. Annie gave the woman a small smile and walked in with a small ' _Thank you_ '.

"She took something for the… _anxiety_ she's been feeling so she's been a bit out of it for the past couple of hours. I bet that's why she hasn't been getting back to you." She explained. Annie frowned a bit in concern but nodded in understanding.

Mrs. Martin led Annie upstairs, her voice hushed as she spoke again. "I'm sure Lydia's touched that people are thinking of her. You're the second person to come around here."

 _Second_?

She gave a short nod and pressed her lips together. "Yeah, uh- things were definitely not… the same without Lydia around." She said, her lips curving back into the polite smile until they reached Lydia's bedroom door. Mrs. Martin reached forward and opened the door, making a sweeping gesture with her hand and parting with a smile of her own.

Annie walked in, her hand slipping under the strap of her bag and lifting it from her shoulder, letting it drop by the foot of Lydia's bed before she sat beside Lydia's splayed out form.

"Hey, Lyds… how're you feeling?" She asked gently, reaching out to brush the mass of strawberry blonde hair out of the girl's face.

Lydia hummed lightly and blew upwards, several strands of her hair flying up with her breath. " _Floaty_ …" She said breezily.

Annie sighed, "Yeah, I bet…" she muttered, eyeing up the two prescription pill bottles that were knocked over on the bedside table. Reaching forward, she grabbed one of them, her eyes widening as she read the label. Reaching out, she grabbed the other bottle, eyes scanning the label before looking at Lydia in a slight panic.

" _Bitch_ , how'd you get both Xanax _and_ Klonopin? Did you take _both_ of them?" She asked, fully ready to make a plan to get the girl to throw it up before any real damage occurred. "I know you're having a rough time, but you don't need to fuck yourself up, Lydia!"

 _Ha, you hypocrite_.

She shoved the little voice in her head to the side despite the fact that it had quite a good point. True, she wasn't dosing herself up on anxiety medication, but not sleeping and refraining from addressing any sort of emotional baggage she was carrying could probably fit under " _fucking yourself up"_ quite nicely.

Lydia snorted loudly and shook her head. "I'm no' _stupid_ , Annie. Xanax has a shorter half life so I took that in the _morning._ Klopolin- Klep-Klo… _the other one_ lasts longer so I'll take that before I _sleep_. No nightmares for me…" She sighed, letting her head flop to the other side.

Only Lydia Martin would talk about the half-lives of the drugs she was _high_ on.

Annie gaped at the girl in disbelief before looking around the room and standing up. Walking over to Lydia's vanity, she placed the two bottles neatly beside each other in the far corner. Being in the state that she was in, Lydia probably wouldn't be all that motivated to actually get up to get the pills.

"Annie, did you see red eyes?"

The question caught her off guard, making her freeze as she returned to her spot next to the dazed girl. A lump in her throat rose, unbidden, making her clear her throat forcefully in an attempt to clear it. "Uh- you mean like… when you cry a lot? Or like, contacts or special effects?"

"No, on Saturday. Like… The _iris_. Completely red… Glow-y…"

She couldn't help but just stare at Lydia who splayed herself out on her bed, her hand flopping off the side as she squeezed her eyes shut tightly.

Annie picked her next words very carefully. "I… didn't see anything out of the ordinary for _me_." There. She wasn't _lying_. Seeing glowing eyes was very much a painfully normal part of her life at this point, but Lydia didn't need to know that.

"Annie?" She mumbled, shifting so that she was curling in on herself.

She sighed and looked down at Lydia. "Yeah, hun?"

"Why aren't you more freaked out about this?" The question was an innocent one, but it made more of an impact than she knew Lydia intended.

She supposed she _was_ freaked out, but it wasn't like she hadn't seen something like the attack before. While she was sure that Lydia and Jackson were dealing with the experience itself, the more she thought about it, the more Annie realized she was only dealing with what the experience _reminded_ her of.

Once more swallowing hard to get rid of a lump forming in her throat, she reached forward to brush the hair out of Lydia's face again. "Oh, don't worry. I'm planning on having a good, messy cry in approximately-" She looked over at Lydia's alarm clock. "Six hours? Yeah, six-ish hours and I'll be a total slobbering mess, don't worry." She smiled, leaning back.

The girl seemed to doze off, and Annie stood up slowly from her bed, careful not to wake Lydia's light slumber. She made a mental reminder to check up on her one more time before the night ended, just to make sure she didn't _actually_ pull a stupid move and take the two prescription drugs at the same time.

Just as she walked out of Lydia's room, quietly closing the door behind herself and descending the staircase, she felt her phone buzzing in the outer pocket of her bag. Slipping it out, she checked the caller ID and frowned slightly at seeing that it was her uncle.

"Hello?" She answered.

Alan's calm voice replied almost immediately, dispelling any thoughts that something was wrong. "Hey, Annie, could you come down to the clinic? Scott was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago, but he's not answering his phone."

She quickly pulled the phone away from her ear, frowning at the time. It was getting pretty late in the day, either something went wrong or Allison and Scott were just having a _really_ good time. "Yeah, sure. I'll be there in like, ten minutes." She said, and with a quick word of ' _Thanks_ ', Alan hung up.

Peeking around the corner and into the grand kitchen, Mrs. Martin was perched upon a stool, a mug in one hand and a magazine laid out on the countertop in front of her.

"Uh, bye, Mrs. Martin. If Lydia- or uh, you- need… anything just let me know. You know where to find me."

Mrs. Martin only responded with a little smile and a nod, and with that Annie turned on her heel, digging around for her car keys and cursing how awkward she had been throughout the interaction with Lydia's mother.

* * *

The sound of the bells chiming when the door to the clinic opened wasn't all too surprising, but what _was_ surprising was who walked in.

"Oh, uh, hi Sheriff." She greeted, sitting up straighter in her seat at the front desk. Was he here about what happened Saturday? How did he even know she was _here_? She thought that it'd be more of a ' _we'll call you, don't wait up_ ' kind of thing.

 _It's probably just a coincidence, calm down._

"Annie, how are you doing?" He smiled walking up to the front desk and crossed his arms over the wooden countertop.

Smiling politely, she nodded and gave a half-shrug. "Fine, thanks. And yourself?"

He seemed to mimic her half-shrug, an easy grin on his lips. "Not too bad." Looking towards the hallway behind her, he pointed towards the doorway. "Is the Doctor in?"

 _There, he wants to see Alan, not you. Calm down._

She nodded once again in response, and simply rolled her chair over to the little lifting gate that partitioned off the front of the clinic to the employee's area. "Yeah, go ahead." She rolled back to her spot and made a sweeping gesture towards the back room. "He should be right in there, if not you can probably just go snooping in the back room. I'm pretty sure we hid all the illicit drugs Friday night, should be all fine."

The Sheriff did a bit of a double take and took in her completely serious expression and dry tone. In the very few times he had met her, Annie gave off a very _quiet_ sort of air. She hadn't seemed like the type to make a joke like _that_.

"Sounds like something my son would say." He couldn't help the grin in response to her very obvious grimace. The Sheriff lifted the envelope in his hands in thanks and proceeded to walk through the threshold to talk to the Doctor. Meanwhile, Annie sat unhappily with the comparison he had just made.

Several minutes passed before the man came back through the way he came in. Annie was surprised that it hadn't taken very long. The two men had been speaking in rather hushed tones, making it nearly impossible for her to hear them over the sounds of loud barking and screeching meowing.

But, just as he was about to leave, the Sheriff paused at the door, letting it fall back shut as he turned around and walked back over to where she sat at the front desk. Giving her a calm smile, he looked at her inquisitively.

"Hey, I know what happened on Saturday was a lot, but you think I could ask you something?"

Looking up at him, she felt her heart rate increase but she only smiled up at him and nodded. "Was my statement not thorough enough?" She asked, looking apologetically at him. She already knew what his answer would be, but she needed to know what _exactly_ he was looking for so that she could fashion a good enough lie.

He shook his head, quick to reassure her, "No, it was perfectly fine. We're just having some… trouble identifying _what_ it was that caused this."

She nodded slowly but quickly began formulating excuses to pick from.

"Is there _anything_ you can remember about _what_ was responsible for the attack?"

She looked down at her hands for a moment, furrowing her brows, crafting her expression into one of deep thought. "I… honestly can't be too sure. Like I said, I had ducked down behind the passenger side of Lydia's car when whatever it was burst out of the windows on the other side. I never got a clear look. It was on four legs but it was just so dark I couldn't see anything more than that." She frowned, dragging her gaze back up to look at the Sheriff's own thoughtful expression.

"Sorry." She apologized. While she was acting heavily, the emotion behind the simple word was completely genuine. She truly was sorry she couldn't help the man more, but if there was anything she learned growing up, it was that keeping the secret was one of the most important things she could do.

She had to commend the man for not blatantly displaying the amount of disappointment he surely felt, but he only nodded, as though he expected that she wouldn't have anything else to add. Tapping on the wood, he looked at her pointedly, "Well, if anything comes up or if you remember anything you think can be helpful, just give us a call."

Annie smiled sympathetically, "You got it. Good luck."

He only lifted the envelope as a goodbye and finally left the clinic. The minute he left, Annie slumped in her seat, exhaling loudly. Hearing footsteps approaching her, she didn't bother sitting up but swiveled the chair so that she could look at Alan as he leaned against the doorway.

"How long do you think this whole _mountain lion_ thing is gonna hold up?" She asked curiously.

Alan grimaced and shook his head. "Not for too long." He admitted, crossing his arms. "There were photos in that envelope showing the beast shifting back into a human. There's no way anyone can play the picture off as anything other than a bipedal creature."

" _Great_ , I mean… Worse comes to worse, Beacon Hills just gets a mythical legend associated with it. What do you say? Think Big Foot would like it around these parts?" She grinned, twisting lightly in the chair, her hands folded across her stomach.

Alan let out a short laugh, " _Right_ , because Beacon Hills needs _more_ supernatural creatures." He shook his head like he didn't even want to _think_ of the possibility before he changed the subject. Unfolding his arms, he pointed at her. "I think we can close up in about an hour. I don't have any more scheduled appointments tonight so we could probably make our way to the school right on time."

Annie audibly groaned and finally sat up before letting her elbow lean against the wood of the front desk. Letting her left cheek meet her palm, she huffed. "I don't even know _why_ I'm coming, it's only been a couple of weeks and I know for a _fact_ that I'm doing fine, _great_ even, in _all_ my classes." She complained.

He looked at her flatly, "You _absolutely_ know why you need to be there. Not to mention we'll be checking in with Marin." He reminded her with a raising of a single brow.

Once again, she audibly groaned, louder than the first time. "Oh, _goodie_. It'll be a good cop, bad cop interrogation of my mental stability." She clasped her hands together in false excitement.

Annie _liked_ Marin. If there was anything she was, she was _adaptable_. And growing up, to a little girl, watching her aunt go from completely serious to willing to sit and play in _the dirt_ with her, was what made Marin _fun_.

But even as Annie grew up, Marin's adaptability never went away. The woman was trained to be an emissary, which almost _ensured_ that she'd be able to quickly adapt to whatever role she needed to play, and taking into account her higher education in the psychological field, it was impossible to deny that Marin was a master of disguise and observation.

 _But_ , when _she_ herself was sitting across from the woman, being subjected to familiar x-ray eyes that seemed to just run in the family, coupled with a steel-like mind? Well, that was a lot less _cool_ , and a whole lot more anxiety provoking.

* * *

"I have to say, Ms. Emery, I'm actually quite impressed with how seamlessly you've acclimated back into your academics."

Harris was the last teacher they needed to see, and in a way, she was _totally_ relieved. From what she knew of the man, he was very much a no-nonsense type of person who wouldn't really beat around the bush. Which, if nothing else, meant that this wouldn't take very long.

She offered an awkward smile at the compliment accompanied by a nod. "Uh, thanks. The academics are easy. It's the social part that's more of a challenge." She tried to joke, before realizing too late that her words didn't exactly constitute as a _good_ joke. Turning slightly to the side, she saw Alan giving her a look that made her regret her words immediately. He wasn't the type of person to speak _for_ her, but she dearly hoped he kept his mouth shut when they met with Marin later.

 _Snitches get stitches, Alan_.

Harris seemed to just ignore her _terrible_ attempt at humor (which she was grateful for) and simply pushed forwards. "Well, I have no real concerns about you in this class. You seem to be one of the few students who have a proclivity for it, actually. Have you thought about taking the advanced placement course in the future?" He asked in that same dry, monotonous tone as he raised a brow at her expectantly.

Another fact she had gathered about the man was that, even though he was _undeniably_ an asshole more often than not, he truly valued hard work. If someone put in that work and effort, he tended to lay off of them _for the most part_.

She gave a firm nod in response. "Definitely. The plan was to take it next year if I have the grades for it."

Harris seemed pleased with her answer and gave her a nod in return. "I'm sure you will." He shifted his gaze towards Alan and unclasped his hands, raising his empty palms before letting them fall onto the desk. "Well, if you don't have any questions for me. I have no more to report."

Alan smiled and shook his head before standing up. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Harris." He replied, holding his hand out. Harris extended his own hand and gave Alan's a firm shake.

And with that, the two druids left the classroom and were left to roam the halls for several minutes, Alan taking more of the lead than Annie was.

Before she knew it though, they were standing outside of the Counseling and Resources office. Her expression dulled with apprehension. "Look, do we _have_ to go sit with her? I mean…" Her right hand seemed to just float towards her left shoulder. Rubbing circles into it rhythmically, she looked up pleadingly to her uncle. "Like, can't you just call her and talk shit about me behind my back like you already do?"

He frowned, "We don-"

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, _uh huh_ , put that under _Santa is real_ on the list of _lies to tell your kids_." She let her hand drop as she turned to look at the closed door.

He placed a hand on her right shoulder. "Annie, we're going in there to _talk_ , not corner you and steal your organs for the black market."

Annie looked up at him with wide eyes, "Wait, is that an option? I'll take what's behind door number two, please."

He rolled his eyes and gently pushed her shoulder, guiding her towards the door. "Get inside."

The minute the two sat down, joining the final member of their family, an uncomfortable silence settled over them.

Or at least it felt _heavily_ uncomfortable to Annie. Both Alan and Marin sat there looking like the very _definition_ of calm, cool, and collected. Several moments passed where they looked expectantly at her. She succeeded in avoiding their gazes for as long as she could, just keeping her gaze on the dark fabric of her jeans while trying to ignore how much the silence was _killing_ her.

She didn't succeed for very long, though.

Clearing her throat, she lifted her gaze and looked at her aunt from underneath her eyelashes. "So uh- are we just gonna sit here in awkward silence or is someone gonna start psychoanalyzing? 'Cause, honestly, I'm a couple of seconds away from just psychoanalyzing myself to get it over with."

Marin gave a calm smile and raised her hand in a welcoming gesture. "Please do."

Rolling her eyes, Annie began to stand up. "I'm fine. Grades are good. I have friends. I'm _thriving_ , thank you so much for your professional help, I'll make sure the American Psych Association sends you an award for your _groundbreaking_ work." She began walking behind her own chair and Alan's towards the door when his hand shot out and grabbed her by the back of her shirt.

"Sit down, Annie." He rolled his eyes.

She made a face at him before retracing her steps and throwing herself back into the chair she had just been occupying.

Marin just kept on looking serenely at her. "All your teachers have good things to say about you." Looking down at her desk at, what she assumed her notes and files containing her teachers' comments about her, Marin lifted her gaze quickly, like if she looked away for too long that Annie would escape somehow. "You do all your work on time, it's thorough, but you're quiet and make no move to participate."

She shrugged, folding her hands in her lap. "There's usually nothing for me to say."

"How has your social life been?" Marin asked. One glance up at her aunt was enough to put her off. The woman was freakishly good at _staring_. It was off-putting, and she most _certainly_ knew it.

Raising her chin, she tried to appear more confident. Maybe _that_ was the key? "Good. I told you, I have friends." She was purposefully trying to keep her answers concise. The shorter the answers, the less Marin could glean from them.

"You haven't been coming to see me as often as I had hoped." She commented. There was no judgment there… or maybe there was. Morrell had this weird way of just being perfectly paradoxical. She had the uncanny ability to just… _confuse_ someone until they accidentally gave her exactly what she wanted.

Which was why Annie felt so anxious when she was sitting on the opposite side of her desk.

Annie huffed and slid down in her seat. "Look, I _get_ that not talking about it is the number one reason why people end up needing to see a counselor in the first place, but I'm dealing with it. On my own terms." She promised, a smile on her lips.

But as soon as Alan's voice was added to the mix, her smile disappeared completely. "But you haven't been sleeping."

It was like Alan had thrown chum into ocean water. Like the shark she was, Marin swept in for the kill. "Why haven't you been sleeping, Annie?"

She squeezed her hands into fists on her lap as she shot her uncle a glare. "I dunno, why is Alan swerving out of his lane?" She directed her hypothetical question to Marin but kept her face towards Alan.

He completely ignored her aggression, looking perfectly at ease as though they were discussing something like the cute dog breed mix he had seen earlier that day and _not_ the abysmal state of her mental health. "If you're not going to address it, I will. You're letting yourself suffer for nothing."

She gave a dismissive wave of her hand, "Well, at least I'm not screaming myself awake anymore. _That's_ progress." She commented tightly, lifting her shoulder in a half-shrug.

A thick silence seemed to just _suffocate_ her.

" _No_ , your logic has led you to believe that it's wise to just sleep as little as possible to avoid screaming yourself awake." He countered back at her.

She looked back down at her lap, clenching her jaw, the muscle there ticking in blatant irritation.

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice? Valerian root doesn't exactly have a _subtle_ smell, Annie."

"What's preventing you from sleeping?" Came Marin's light, prodding voice.

Annie remained silent, her heart beginning to beat rapidly, her palms sweating as the feeling of the room getting smaller and smaller made the butterflies in the pit of her stomach only flutter even more violently. She stared at her lap, thinking about how plausible it would be for her to just make a run for it and climb out the window. It was on the first floor, there was probably a bush or something down there, it wouldn't be _that_ terrible of a fall.

Then again, there was the issue of how to get _up_ there. She had been more of a relay and sprint type of track athlete, high jump hadn't ever been a strong suit of hers, but she was _definitely_ willing to try.

"Recurring nightmares." Alan broke the silence, answering for her. Annie whipped her head to the side, giving him the dirtiest look she could muster.

Marin's questioning voice made her turn once more to look at her aunt. "About?" Marin asked, looking so infuriatingly calm that Annie could practically _feel_ something snap within her.

The rational part of her mind was screaming at her that her aunt and uncle were only doing this because they _cared_ and were concerned about her, not because they got some sick, deranged pleasure at seeing her squirm at their questioning. Although, it was the emotional, _irrational_ side of her that seemed to be winning quite spectacularly at the moment.

Annie crossed her arms and clenched her jaw. "What do _you_ think, _Marin_?" She bit out, putting a mocking sort of emphasis on her aunt's name. "Use that pretty little Masters of yours."

Marin didn't skip a beat, responding quickly and just as sharply as she had. "My _pretty little Masters_ is telling me that you're displaying all the classic signs of PTSD and that it should most definitely _not_ go untreated." She countered, watching Annie straighten up her back and open her mouth to defend herself.

"I don't ha-"

Her aunt quickly interrupted. "Agitation, irritability, hostility, hypervigilance, social isolation. Emotional detachment. Insomnia or nightmares. Are any of these resonating, _Anisa_?" She emphasized her niece's name, just as the girl had done with her name only moments before. She watched Annie almost deflate as she slumped in the uncomfortable chair across from her.

"Your degree is a _bitch_ ," Annie muttered, looking down at her knees.

"Tell me about some of your dreams, Annie."

Annie kept her gaze trained steadily on the tops of her knees, focusing in on the color and texture of her jeans as she slowly answered the question. "I mean, the other day I had a dream of ice skating with dad… That was nice."

" _But_ …" Marin trailed off expectantly.

"It turned bad. They always do." Annie admitted quietly. She could feel Alan and Marin's gazes on her. She could feel her heart racing. Tapping her finger against her knee for several moments, she finally couldn't take it and she stood up abruptly,

"Okay, _well_ , this was supposed to be a check-in. Not a free opportunity for y'all to come at me like this. So… _thanks_ but we'll save this for an actual session, shall we?" She smiled tightly at the two of them before making her way towards the door.

"Annie-" Alan began, but he immediately closed his mouth as Annie whipped around and simply smiled unsettlingly at him.

" _What_?" There was a tremble in her voice, and he wasn't quite sure if she was a minute away from screaming at them or bursting into tears, but Alan sighed, realizing that pushing her might not have been the greatest decision.

It was hard to tell with the girl though, she had a tight control over the emotions she wanted to reveal and the ones she wanted to keep deeply hidden. Although with the hard time she was having now, it was much easier to have an idea of what was going on with her, Annie would immediately shut down the minute they got anywhere close to _actually_ delving deep into her emotional state.

Annie continued on. "We checked in. I'm acclimating perfectly well back into _school_ and I'm doing _fine,_ okay? Now _I'm_ going to leave with or without you, so see you whenever." She turned around and opened the door, quickly speed walking through the threshold and pushing away the feeling of remorse that rose within her for snapping.

Alan should have known not to push her. _Marin_ should have known not to push her. She couldn't _stand_ the two of them ganging up on her like that. She knew they wanted to help, but she was _fine_ on her own.

She _had_ to be fine on her own.

* * *

Alan watched his niece storm out of the room, pressing his lips together he turned back to look at his sister. Sighing, he lifted a hand to rub at his right temple.

"I don't know if Marta would sympathize with me or kick me, right now."

Marin cracked a small smile as she leaned back in her seat, relaxing more than she had the past several minutes. "Probably both." She said, folding her hands over her stomach.

Alan grimaced and shook his head. "One minute I think I know what she needs, the next she pushes me away."

She nodded in understanding. "She feels like she's losing control, and I don't think anyone could blame her for feeling like that."

Alan opened his mouth for a moment, as though he were about to admit something but then closed it a moment later. Marin only raised a brow at him, silently challenging him to say what was on his mind. He hesitated for several more moments before just giving in. "I think… she's losing control in more ways than just emotionally."

The corners of her lips pulled into a slight frown at her brother, folding her hands beneath her chin, she leaned forward in interest. "How so?"

Turning to look at the door, like he could still see Annie's figure despite the fact that she was long gone from the office, he spoke quietly. " _It_ happened again. On Saturday."

Marin seemed to know exactly what he was talking about without needing him to elaborate. She tensed up and her relaxed gazed turned steel-like. "And why didn't you tell me when you told me about the attack?" She asked, narrowing her eyes accusingly.

Alan sighed and shook his head at her. "Don't look at me like that." He warned.

She extended her hand and tapped her desk as emphasis as she spoke. "You should have _told_ me. Did you think you could figure this out on your own?" She asked incredulously.

"I had _hoped_." He muttered, feeling regretful that he had decided to divulge the information to her.

"Struck with false hope once again, brother?" She asked snidely.

He lifted his hands placatingly, hoping to end the argument before it even really started. "Look, I'm telling you _now_ , that's what matters."

Marin shook her head emphatically and gazed at her brother with steely eyes. "No. What _matters_ is that our niece is able to do things that should be completely _unnatural_. She could be a danger."

He looked at her cautiously, knowing what Marin could be like when what was deemed _natural_ was being threatened. "From what I know, she has only ever been able to do what she can when she's _afraid_."

She let out a scoff accompanied by an eye roll. "And what happens when she's angry? I don't mean the little passive aggressive tantrums she throws, Alan. I mean _pure_ rage. Have you thought about what she could do then? What if she hurts herself? Or someone else?"

He instinctively came for her defense. "She won't hu-"

Marin coldly cut him off. "Alan, she _killed_ a man." The reminder served as a sobering moment for him."I hope you didn't forget that." She snapped.

Alan didn't think he could _ever_ forget such a thing. Hearing the story of what had happened had chilled him to the bone, especially when it came from his little niece laying in a hospital bed, hooked up to tubes, a heart monitor and with a large bandage covering the left side of her face. He could remember the way her voice had been completely void of emotion when she told him of the strange force that seemed to come from _her_ , that had thrown the werewolf off of her, impaling him on a low-lying tree branch several feet away from her.

She hadn't spoken for _days_ after the confession.

He opened his mouth immediately to once again come to Annie's defense but not before Marin could interrupt him. " _Yes_ , I know. It was completely in self-defense but what happens when it _isn't_?" The question seemed almost _foreign_ to him. Annie had a whole host of issues, that much was painfully obvious, but he couldn't ever imagine her intentionally taking a life. Her parents did too much of a good job teaching her the value of all life.

But nevertheless, Marin shook her head and leaned back in her seat, steepling her fingers together. "It's unnatural and you _know_ what happens to unnatural things in nature."

"Balance." He muttered, settling back into his seat before looking much older than he actually was.

"Look, I'm glad that it was _her_ that came out of that fight alive, I really am. _However_ , you _need_ to realize how _bad_ this could be."

* * *

She wasn't sure how long it had been since she stormed out of Marin's office, but she knew that she had been leaning against the front of Alan's car, staring at her boots for much longer than a normal person usually did.

"You're angry."

Alan's voice reaching her ears sent a wave of irritation to wash over her. Uncrossing her arms, she lifted her gaze to look at her uncle, "Your powers of observation _truly_ astound me." She bit at him dryly.

He looked at her with those infuriatingly calm eyes, "Annie, we understand you need your space but yo-"

Perhaps it was the way he was so _calm_ that set her off. She wasn't quite sure, but hearing him speak so logically and understandingly had just rubbed her the wrong way. It felt almost _patronizing_ , in a way.

"No, you _don't_ , you don't understand!" She finally snapped at him. She could see by the way he leaned back slightly that he hadn't quite expected it.

"You can be as sympathetic as you want, I know both of you lost a sister-" Alan let out a slow exhale through his nostrils as he pressed his lips together and looked at the girl breaking down."-but I lost _everything_ , you can't just _recover_ from something like that in a matter of _months_." Feeling her eyes beginning to burn dangerously, she flicked her gaze upwards, staring up at the night sky as she tried her best to reign in her emotions.

The _very_ last thing she needed was to break down crying in the middle of her school parking lot where several of her classmates could see.

Looking back at her uncle, she inhaled deeply. "But I'm _trying_. I _know_ I have issues, Alan." She placed a hand on her chest. " _Believe me_ , I know. I don't need a degree to recognize that and I _certainly_ don't need anyone _else_ reminding me!" Her voice rose slightly by the end of her declaration, a clear sign of her frustration.

Alan opened his mouth, but a loud, piercing scream echoed out in the night air, making the two of them whip around with wide, alert eyes, turning to survey the direction from which the scream came. Not a moment later did they spot a crowd of people running towards them, panic clear on their faces. Parents grabbed at their kids and even the slight handful of curious bystanders stood at a distance from whatever had incited the panic.

The two of them exchanged a glance, and Alan saw a dangerous glint in his niece's eyes. "Annie." He warned, nearly wanting to curse when he watched her turn and sprint in the direction of the scream. He quickly ran after her, not liking the look of crazed determination that had flashed across her expression before she took off.

It was impulsive of her to do what she did. To _literally_ run into danger, especially when she had _no_ idea what she'd encounter. But she _was done_ with avoiding parts of her life that _made_ her who she was. If she wanted to prove she was _fine_ she needed to stop sheltering herself from the life that refused to leave her alone.

People ran past her, carelessly hitting her shoulders and shoving her side to side as they prioritized their safety, but she pushed through, and it wasn't even a moment later that Annie heard the low growling.

It was loud and menacing and if she listened closely, she could hear heavy paws hitting the asphalt at a fast pace. Just like on Saturday night, she felt her heart begin to beat rapidly, threatening to beat out of her chest. But it wasn't the creature that sent the rush of adrenaline through her veins, but rather it was Scott's panicked voice that called out Allison's name. Annie whipped around, eyes wide and alert as she watched Scott sprint forward and pull Allison out of the way of a moving car.

"Move! _Move!_ " The Sheriff called out, making her head whip around to look at him. He sounded nothing like he had during the few times she met him. He was calling out with a strong, loud, and commanding tone that left people with little choice but _to_ listen. He weaved between the parked cars, presumably running after the creature that had first induced the panic, and just as he was about to run into the wider lot, a car backed straight into him.

" _Shit_." She whispered under her breath. Quickly she ran forwards and let her knees fall hard to the ground as her hands hovered over the Sheriff.

"I'm okay…" His reassurances trailed off, and despite being in pain, he stretched his hand down to lift the leg of his pants up and reveal an ankle holster holding a handgun. Just as he flicked the safety off, getting ready to make the shot, the startling sound of two gunshots rang out into the night air.

A thick silence settled over everyone who was in that parking lot. A large crowd began congregating around something. Standing up slowly, she walked forward and peered through the crowd a frown pulling at her lips as she looked at the creature lying in the middle of the lot, its hunter standing over it with his gun drawn.

 _A mountain lion_.

How convenient.

* * *

The look in Chris Argent's eye was cold and calculating like he was trying to figure something out before he was snapped out of it as his daughter walked up to stand beside him. Annie had been thinking about that look ever since Alan practically grabbed her by the sleeve and dragged her back into the car to go home, clearly unimpressed by the reckless stunt she had pulled.

But despite the seriousness of her actions, she found herself completely unable to return back to any thoughts that weren't about the way Argent moved. His actions were precise and his hands were steady, unwavering. It was _unsettling_.

It was _professional_.

"What were you _thinking_?"

Alan's soft, but steady, tone broke through her tumultuous thoughts. It was only a matter of time before she did something stupid enough to get lectured at.

Albeit, she had to give herself _some_ credit, she held out pretty long.

Both Alan and Marin had been forced into the _stand in parent_ positions in her life, and while she appreciated their care for her wellbeing, and while she _knew_ she'd be forever in Alan's debt for opening his doors and letting her into his home, she knew _both_ of them hadn't thought they would have to _parent_ her in the first place.

"What if that had been the alpha?"

Annie clenched her jaw and, against her better judgment, chose not to take the question seriously. " _Well_ , the left side of my face has been feeling kinda lonely. What do you think? Matching scars? Will it be the newest spring trend?" She half-drawled, as though she were just too tired to speak at a volume any higher than a half-hearted mumble.

"I'm _serious_ , Anisa." He said shortly. In all her years of knowing Alan, she knew he wasn't the type of person to raise their voice any higher than an indoor voice. And, while there was no volume in his tone, one could _easily_ detect his mood from the manner by which he spoke. More often than not, he spoke softly and _thoughtfully_ so when he deviated from _that_ , she knew whoever he was talking to was seriously testing him.

And in this case, it was _her_.

"Evidently." She muttered, crossing her arms, acting very much like the petulant teenager she was.

Out of her periphery, she could see her uncle's hands tighten around the wheel, and she silently commended the man for his patience and vaguely wondered whether she should send him a fruit basket or something later for putting up with her bullshit.

"Since when have you been impulsive?" He once again broke the moment of silence that had begun building in the car.

Annie let another blanket of silence fall on them. By nature, she _wasn't_ impulsive. She liked having plans upon plans, _but_ , she was _active_. She didn't like sitting around and feeling useless and ever since she had gotten to Beacon Hills, that was _exactly_ how she felt. It wasn't so much impulsiveness as it was just a deep _need_ to _act_.

She _really_ hoped that wasn't as bullshit-y as it sounded to even herself.

Nevertheless, she opened her mouth to speak. "I've gotten _so_ sick of my recent apparent _need_ to hole myself up in my room." Nothing was the same and it was driving her _insane_. All she wanted was to feel the same way, to be able to get through the day without being worried if something was going to hunt her down and finish the job.

She wanted to get through the day without being afraid of her own _mind_.

Sleep itself was hard to come by these days and it was only when she quite _literally_ passed out that she got the sleep she needed. And even _then_ it was fragmented and haunted by the same image of the last moments of her mother's life. "If I wanna adjust and get back to normal I need to just… go back to what I did before."

"Annie…" he sighed, "It's _okay_ to give yourself time to heal."

Clenching her jaw, she forced herself to breathe. "I _know_ it's _okay_ , I just… I want it to happen faster." She said, keeping her head forward and making sure her gaze didn't stray. Alan seemed like the type to pull over to talk and that was the _last_ thing she needed.

"And you _know_ that's not going to happen the way you're going about it, right?"

She let her head fall against the passenger side window, her gaze fixed to the solid white line blurring with speed at the side of the road. "I'm just _so_ sick of being scared of everything." She whispered, crossing her arms tightly over her chest as she tried to give herself a semblance of security.

It seemed like _a semblance_ would be all she'd get for a long time.

* * *

Whoo! Okay! I feel like at this point I can't even apologize for bad grammar 'cause I always post at ridiculous hours of the morning so it's not even a good excuse anymore lmao, so I'm just gonna say I'll come back later and recheck it all *insert sobbing emoji*

But yes! Here's chapter 6! Once again, I want to thank all of you so much! Your views, comments, and support are truly what inspire and motivate me to keep writing so I really, really cannot thank you enough! I appreciate each and every one of you! ALSO I have a question: so like many artists out there, I love writing to music, so I'd love to hear any songs y'all think fit Annie in general, or any specific chapters!

Anywho, finals are coming up, so I might have to step back for a little bit, but I have half of the next chapter all written out and I am _so_ excited to share it with you! But, as always, I'm so open to talking to any one whether it be answering a question you have or just starting up an awesome conversation, I want to talk to you! so come visit me over on my tumblr musiciatee!


	7. Ineffable

As _subtly_ abnormal as Beacon Hills High School was, it really _was_ like every other bona fide, small-town American high school. When shit hit the fan, people were gonna _talk_.

Annie had never been a terribly _talkative_ type, especially not recently, but she figured that was alright considering the whole student body did enough talking for quite possibly the whole county population. They just wouldn't _shut up_ , and she had to admit that it was getting on her nerves a lot more than it probably should've.

All the talk was, of course, understandable. Having something _killed_ on school grounds was _bound_ to have _some_ kind of effect on the students. But the effect it had was that no one seemed to just stay quiet about it. Stories began sounding more and more fabricated as people shared them and naturally wanted to one-up each other.

" _Oh my God, wait, so you_ saw _it?"_

" _It was_ totally _coming after me. It was huge!"_

Annie could hardly contain her eye roll at the conversation between the two girls beside her as she leaned forward to hide behind the locker door. Reaching in, she grabbed her notebook and the novel they were reading for English, holding in a loud groan as the girls seemed to just _speak louder_.

" _I was lucky I wasn't_ mauled."

She shut her locker loudly and leaned against it, a saccharine smile playing on her lips. "Oh my _God_ , you're so _right_." She said, adopting an exaggerated, valley girl-like drawl. "Being _mauled_ would've been like, _so_ bad. _Terrible_ for the complexion." She kept the smile on her face during the interaction, drawing a lot more satisfaction from their looks of realized horror than she _really_ should've.

One of the girls opened her mouth, probably to attempt some kind of damage control, but she was only met with an uninterested eye roll. Annie turned, rather dramatically at that, her hair bouncing impressively as she walked speedily to her class.

 _That was freakishly Martin-esque, Emery. Watch yourself_.

She resisted the urge to grimace at the thought of adopting the mannerisms of Beacon's Queen Bee. Lydia's style was a little too _much,_ for even someone who as appreciative of the occasional dramatic flair here and there. After silently promising herself not to act in such a way in front of Lydia herself (she was _sure_ the girl's ego would only inflate at the news that Annie was inadvertently adopting her habits), she continued on her way to class.

But as she made her way into the room, it seemed like her main source of irritation only followed her to class. It seemed like everyone was talking to _someone_.

 _Except_ for just _one_ person.

Stiles Stilinski was the _very_ last person she expected to be completely _silent_ before class… or _during_ class for that matter. As she strode through the aisle and towards her seat, she lifted her chin in a greeting nod to the oddly quiet boy.

"Hey, Stilinski, how's your dad?" She asked. The continued talk of the mountain lion had reminded her of the fact that his father had been inadvertently injured during the panic. His head snapped up at the sound of his surname being called, and as it registered what she had said, he looked up at her in surprise.

He nodded as he straightened up in his seat. "Uh, he's okay. Nothing serious, I just gotta make sure he gets rest, you know?" He spoke, twisting slightly as he remained speaking directly to her as she took her usual seat in the back corner.

Slipping her bag off her shoulder, she let it fall to the ground as she folded her hands in front of her on the desk and nodded in response. "Well, lemme know if you need anything." She offered with a casual shrug.

Stiles furrowed his brows and looked rightfully confused. "Uh… Th-Thanks?" He said, the inflection at the end of his word of gratitude making it sound more like a question than a statement. Their relationship thus far could be classified as an acquaintanceship at _best_. He hadn't expected her to inquire about his _dad_. It was nice of her to do though, especially considering there were _other_ people in his life who hadn't even done _that_ much yet.

"What?" She scoffed wrenching him out of his mental monologue, she unfolded her hands and bent slightly to the side to grab a pen out of her bag. Straightening up, she raised a brow at him. "Contrary to popular belief, I'm not _completely_ heartless."

Stiles quickly shook his head. "I never said you _were_."

A skeptical smirk played on her lips. "Well, your tone of absolute _surprise_ says that you were _totally_ thinking it."

"Uh-" He was about to say something else when Scott walked into the classroom, making Stiles tense up immediately when he spotted him. She notched a brow up as she watched Stiles shoot a dirty look at the werewolf before turning his attention back to Annie, making an obvious show that he wasn't looking at Scott.

Letting out a low whistle, she pursed her lips. "Damn, trouble in paradise?" She asked, dropping her voice into a mocking stage whisper.

Stiles rolled his eyes, "Shut up, Annie." He muttered, twisting in his seat so that he faced the front of the class.

She gave a low chuckle and sank comfortably into her seat before facing forward, watching Scott out of her periphery as he walked over and sat at the desk sitting beside her and behind Stiles, preparing herself to actively tune the two out. She didn't even need to eavesdrop anymore to guess that Scott was about to talk about some sensitive stuff.

And she _hated_ that she could predict his actions at this point.

* * *

Annie chewed on a carrot, looking completely in thought as she stared at the old book in Allison's hands across the table. Allison looked at her and Lydia with plain excitement and fascination in her eyes as she looked at them for a response to what she had just read.

"The _what_ , of _who_?" Lydia asked, although there wasn't much curiosity there. She gave Allison a look that plainly displayed her disinterest with what she was reading before returning her attention to her lunch.

Allison shook her head but began reading anyways, " _The Beast of Gevaudan_. Listen. 'A quadruped wolf-like monster, prowling the Auvergne and South Dordogne areas of France during the year 1764 to 1767. La Bête killed over a hundred people, becoming _so infamous_ that the King Louis the Fifteenth sent one of his best hunters to try and kill it.'"

Annie blinked. That… did that sound _familiar_ to her? She couldn't quite tell. Supernatural history hadn't exactly been her strongest suit (a trait her father absolutely _abhorred_ considering how much of a history nerd _he_ had been). But perhaps this wasn't even _supernatural_ , although something told her that she was perhaps being a little too _optimistic_.

Typically the rule of thumb was that anything nicknamed a _beast_ was _probably_ supernatural,

"Boring." Lydia once again chimed in despite no one asking her.

Allison ignored her and continued pressing on. "'Even the _Church_ eventually declared the monster a messenger of _Satan_.'"

"Hm, _still_ boring." Lydia hummed with a smile.

"'Cryptozoologists believe it may have been a subspecies of hoofed predator, possibly a Mesonychid.'"

Lydia dropped her smile and let her head fall to the side, " _Slipping into a coma_ bored." She groaned.

Annie rolled her eyes and tapped her fingers on the cap of her water bottle before unscrewing it. "Keep going, Allison." she said, drawing the bottle to her lips.

The girl grinned and offered a wink before returning to the reading. "'While others believe it was a powerful sorcerer who could shape-shift into a _man-eating monster_.'"

 _Yep_ , that _definitely_ sounded familiar to her.

"Any of this have _anything_ to do with your family?" Lydia asked, rolling her eyes. Annie leaned forward, the very same question had been running through her mind.

" _This_." She looked at them in silence for a moment, like she was building up the suspense before she turned back to the reading. "'It is believed that La Bête was finally trapped and killed by a renowned _hunter_ who claimed his wife and four children were the first to fall prey to the creature.'"

 _Oh…_

Oh _no_.

As Lydia only looked at her expectantly, as though to ask ' _so what_?", Annie tensed up in her seat, mentally berating herself for being so _dumb_. Allison continued on, her eyes sparkling with intrigue. "His name was _Argent_."

"Your ancestors killed a big wolf. So _what_?"

Annie wanted to repeatedly slam her head into a wall.

"Not just a _big wolf…_ Take a look at this picture. What does _that_ look like to you?"

Her blood ran cold, immediately recognizing the kind of beast, and her rising fears had just been confirmed.

She was _officially_ an idiot.

Annie was drawn out of her self-deprecating thoughts by Allison calling Lydia's name. Her gaze shifted to her right so that she could look at the redhead who seemed so lost in thought. Her eyes had become glossy, her expression one that Annie was all too familiar with.

It was the one she herself got _much_ too often, the one she got when she was remembering something _bad_.

"Lydia? Lydia." Allison called, moving her head slightly to actively connect her eyes with Lydia's.

Lydia snapped out of it, readjusted her gaze, and looked straight at Allison. "It looks… like a big… _wolf_." She emphasized, pushing her words as if they were absolute _fact,_ like Allison was being silly to even considering anything other than her words.

"See you in history." And with a fluttering of her lashes and a sweet smile, she got up and swiftly walked away, the sounds of her heels against the linoleum flooring echoing out impressively throughout the noisy cafeteria.

Annie's gaze returned to the book, her body leaning back into the chair as Allison turned it back around, hiding the picture from her, but was as though the image was burned into her mind. There was no doubt that the image was portraying a large alpha werewolf. The blood red eyes were enough of an indication to her, but it was the news that it was _Allison's_ ancestors who had hunted it down that made a chill run down her spine.

Faint memories rising from the depths of her mind of when she used to eavesdrop on her parents' conversations, of their concerned discussions of a family that exercised a little _too_ much power over the supernatural world. She hadn't made the connection before. Wouldn't it have been _way_ too much of a coincidence if the Argent girl belonged to _that_ family?

Of course, but evidently, she was learning _quite_ quickly that coincidences ran rather rampantly in Beacon Hills.

She felt rather dim as she sat in silence, the implications of her realization beginning to weigh down on her. Did Allison know about the supernatural? Was _she_ a hunter? There were too many unknowns with Allison herself, but her parents _had_ to be hunters. There was no way they _weren't_. During the few times that she had interacted with the couple, they gave off an almost _militaristic_ air.

And then a couple of days ago? When Mr. Argent shot that mountain lion? She _knew_ there had been something off about the way he held himself.

Oh, things got _so_ much more complicated, and she suddenly found herself feeling _bad_ for McCall.

 _Oh, shit_ , _McCall_.

Did _he_ know?

Allison lifted her gaze from the book and perked up as she spotted someone behind Annie. Annie turned in her seat to see who had grabbed Allison's attention, and honestly, she really should have _known_. Scott was scrambling to follow behind Stiles who was several feet away from him.

Annie twisted back around and frowned at seeing Allison gathering her things. "Scott. Scott, wait!" Allison exclaimed, quickly getting up and abandoning her seat before she ran after Scott who, at the sound of the girl's voice, picked up his pace and rushed as fast as she could out of the cafeteria.

Slumping slightly, Annie looked at the table that was still covered in both Allison and Lydia's trays. "Oh, _okay_. That's _cool_. That's _fine_." She muttered sarcastically as she stood up and hoisted the strap of her book bag over her shoulder before collecting the trash and trays left behind.

It was still a bit early to get to class, but she figured she could go sit in the room and run through some of her thoughts until it started.

She almost wanted to laugh, there was _no way_ she'd be able to think about anything _other_ than the fact that Allison's werewolf hunting family could _very well be_ interested in her _very obviously_ werewolf boyfriend.

 _Nothing_ could be easy, could it?

* * *

Stiles had absolutely _no_ idea what Annie's end game was.

One minute she was sly, saying things that made it seem like she _totally_ knew something weird was going on. But then the next it was like she shut down, completely unwilling to relinquish any real knowledge she had.

It made his head hurt.

 _But_ , as _annoying_ as she could be, she _had_ inadvertently helped him all those weeks ago when he had been binge-researching all things werewolves. Although, he wasn't quite sure if listing a wide variety of reading material could be considered _helping_ , _but_ she had also correctly assumed that Derek had wolfsbane poisoning. _So_ , by that rather large leap of logic, he was led to believe that perhaps she'd be of some assistance to his current predicament.

He was _certain_ she knew a lot more than she was admitting to, _and_ he was being driven by the intense need to prove to Scott that he absolutely didn't need that serial killer looking dog man that insisted on getting the kid _angry_. He had been nearly _mauled_ by Scott _way_ too many times to even want to relive such events in _any_ form.

So, he decided he was just going to dive into the deep end and take a risk.

Spotting exactly who he was looking for, Stiles picked up the pace as he speed-walked down the hall, bumping into one too many people as his focus zeroed in on her. He slowed down and hesitated as he saw her standing at her locker, talking to _Boyd_ , who he was pretty sure hadn't spoken in front of him possibly _ever_. Maybe it was just a "brooders gotta stick together" thing. Either way, he would have much rather caught her alone so he could just spit out his questions without having to pull her away from a conversation (which he thought would probably be like pulling _teeth_ , especially if she just didn't want to talk to him).

Luck turned in his favor, though. Boyd started walking away as she closed her locker and turned in the opposite direction.

Stiles picked up his speed walking to a full sprint as he ran towards her. "An-Annie! Wait!" he exclaimed loudly. She had just hoisted her bag up her shoulder, shifting a pile of books to her left arm before jumping in alarm at his call.

She paused in her tracks at the sound her name, and he could clearly see how her shoulders rose as she inhaled deeply. He skidded to a stop just as she turned around, vague irritation etched in her expression (although, when was it _not_?).

They stood in silence for several moments with her staring at him and him rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet, staring right back at her. She notched a brow up. " _What_?" She asked.

He looked at her, a puzzled expression overtaking his features. "What?"

"Stiles, _you're_ the one who called my name." She sighed, raising her free hand to rub at her temple, as though she already had a headache.

His eyes lit up like he remembered something important. " _Right_ , I need to ask you something." He stated slowly. He pressed his lips together as he looked at her seriously. A part of him was still feeling hesitation at the idea of asking her something so blatant. No longer would they be dancing around each other. If he went ahead and asked, it'd be like just straight up _punching_ her in the face with it.

Rolling her eyes, Annie shifted her weight onto one leg as she placed her hand on her hip. "Are you _trying_ to waste my time?" She asked impatiently, her boot-clad foot tapping in irritation. "C'mon, I need to finish homework during this free period, I gotta help Alan at the clinic so I won't have time tonight."

Stiles swallowed hard. Scott said that Derek was supposed to meet him at the clinic tonight. What if Annie saw them?

 _So what?_

It wasn't like she wasn't suspicious already.

Sighing, his hand flew up to rub the back of his neck before it dropped to his side once more. "Remember how you told me you wrote that report on werewolves last year?"

Annie seemed to perk up at the word _werewolves_ , and her reaction wasn't lost on him. It was like she was immediately on guard, her tired, glossy eyes seemed to sharpen and become much more alert than they had been only a few moments ago. "... _Yeah_?" She asked drawing out the vowels, her tone clearly conveying caution.

Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he lifted a shoulder in what was meant to be a casual shrug, but it looked more like a nervous tick. "Did you come across anything that had to do with… their _bloodlust_? Like how werewolves would control themselves?"

She blinked, not expecting such a question and it startled her a bit that he was outright asking about something so… _important_. " _Why_?" She asked slowly. Raising an expectant brow, she narrowed her eyes slightly. "You still writing that paper, Stilinski? Seems like it'd be overdue by now."

His nostrils flared in irritation at her resistance. "This is more for personal interest." He shot back.

Pursing her lips, she rolled her eyes. " _Mhm_ , yeah. I'm _sure_."

Stiles inhaled slowly and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to stay as patient as he could. He ignored her sarcasm and pressed on, determined to get actual, helpful advice from her. "What did they- the werewolves- do to learn control?"

Pressing her lips together, she stared at him in silence for a moment before she relented. If Stiles absolutely _insisted_ on being the one to help Scott with the whole _werewolf_ thing, he might as well have accurate information before he went and ended up looking like her.

Annie sighed and shifted her gaze down to look at her feet. "Werewolves…" She began slowly, licking her lips before looking up to find him looking earnestly at her, rapt with attention. "Werewolves were thought to be in this continuous battle for their _humanity_. Being such a creature, not fully animal but not fully human either, fundamentally _changes_ not only who you are physically, but mentally as well."

A frown pulled at the corners of his mouth and he furrowed his brows. "So… what'd they do to _keep_ their humanities?" He asked.

She shrugged, letting her hand fall from where it rested on her hip and raising it to gesture vaguely at him. "Well, when you're anxious or high strung, what do you do when you need to feel relaxed? Or grounded?"

He looked surprised at the question and seemed to lean away from her. "Um-" He cleared his throat and lifted a hand to rub the top of his head as he shifted in clear discomfort. "I dunno if we're uh- _close_ enough that uh, I'd feel comfortable telling you."

She looked at him in confusion before realization crossed her features and she grimaced. "It was a _general_ question, Stilinski." She said, shaking her head in disgust. " _Nasty_."

He cleared his throat loudly, his ears turning red in embarrassment before he tried to keep the conversation going. "Can you just answer the question directly? We'll be here _forever_ if you just answer my question with another question."

"Sounds like your Adderall is wearing off." She quipped, tilting her head.

" _Annie_."

She sighed and nodded, shifting the books in her right arm to her left as she shrugged once more. Finally looking at him seriously, she answered. "You think of whatever it is that reminds you of why you keep going. Whatever keeps you in touch with the rawest parts of _who_ you are. "

He looked confused. "But… _r_ _awest_ part of who you are sounds… _animalistic_. Like… anger and stuff?" That sounded dangerously close to what Derek had told Scott, which made him feel rather let down that Annie couldn't give him something _new_ and completely different to work with.

Annie shrugged again, looking deep in thought as she considered the question. " _Perhaps_. If it's _anger_ that keeps you tethered to who you are as a human." She granted. Looking at his downtrodden expression, she sighed. "Look, humans are _complex_. Actual animals don't have the ability to express themselves in the same way that humans can, and so…"

She pressed her lips together as she tried to think of a way to explain it to him. "Okay, think of it this way. I'm feeling absolute _rage_ , blinded to everything around me. But then I remember… I dunno-" She looked down for a moment before looking up once more. "Let's say I remember my mom."

Stiles furrowed his brow at the way her voice softened. Before it had been brusque and business-like, but in that split second, it had transitioned into a tone he didn't think he had ever heard from her. It was almost like the voice a kindergarten teacher would use to explain a complex concept to a child, but it wasn't _patronizing_. It was… _genuine_ , like she was actually trying to make sure he understood what she was saying.

He found himself greatly appreciating that _greatly_ , especially considering how round-about her answers had been thus far.

Either she had no idea of her change in tone or she completely ignored it, but she pressed on. "I just… _remember_ the way she's taught me everything, she's taught me to consider my actions, to think them through. I suddenly realize that _blind rage_ isn't something she taught me. I calm down. It's like the very thought of her _pulls_ me back to _who_ I am. I remember that blind rage is _not me_. Get it?"

He nodded slowly, and she could practically see the gears in his mind turning wildly. "So it's like… you use someone-"

"Or something. Could be an idea or a goal." She interrupted with a nod.

"Okay, so you could use that to just… anchor you down… to humanity." Realization colored his words as he looked at her with wide eyes, ideas beginning to swirl in his head. Nodding to himself, he stuck out a hand and patted her left shoulder, making her quickly recoil from him with a sharp warning in her eyes.

"You don't know me like that."

Stiles pressed his lips together. _And she's back_. He held up two thumbs up and cleared his throat. "Uh- right. Um- Thanks, Annie." He finished lamely before turning around and walking away from her, a plan to help Scott already forming in his mind.

Annie remained standing in her place, biting her lower lip before turning her gaze to his retreating form.

"Stiles." She called out before she could stop herself. He turned around almost immediately, nearly tripping over himself as he looked at her with wide eyes.

"If uh- Let me know if you need more information." She looked at him meaningfully. "For your research." She added, but there was a moment of understanding shared between the two of them.

Maybe Annie Emery _really_ wasn't as heartless as he thought.

* * *

If she had to ask one more shop if they had _fucking sorrel_ she was going to _scream_.

Alan had warned her that it would be difficult to hunt the uncommon plant down around here, _but_ she hadn't expected to be out driving around for nearly _two hours_. A part of her wondered if this was just a convoluted, _petty_ way for Alan to get back at her for her horrific behavior over the past two days.

 _Although_ , she had to admit that it _was_ two hours of peace and quiet, broken only by her music, that she could use to just mull over the events that were unraveling before her at an alarming pace.

Things were becoming much wilder than she could have ever anticipated. She supposed she probably should have seen it coming though. While Alan was, for all intents and purposes, _retired_ , to her knowledge he had lived in Beacon Hills for a large majority of his life. Druids tended to stick close to areas of high supernatural activity, for their own needs as well as to serve other supernatural creatures.

Although, her outburst with Alan and Marin had opened her eyes to the fact that she really _did_ want to get involved despite all the promises she had made to herself. She just… didn't quite appreciate how _fast_ things were developing.

Sighing, she pulled into a parking spot and stepped out of her car, dragging her feet to the door of a small apothecary. If they didn't have what Alan wanted she was just going home, she didn't even care. If he _absolutely_ needed sorrel he could fucking order seeds online and they could try to grow it on their own.

Pushing the door open, she was greeted by both the sound of light tinkling chimes and a deep earthy smell that just filled her with natural comfort. A tall, dark-skinned, tattoo-clad man with an impressive beard strolled leisurely to the front, pushing back a curtain of beads to meet her with a bright, perfect smile. "Hey, can I help you?"

She gave him a smile that appeared more like a grimace as she looked at him with pleading eyes. " _God_ , I sure hope so. You know if you have any sorrel? Like French sorrel, not Roselle." She held her breath as she watched his expression turn thoughtful.

"In what form? We've got fresh and dried."

Annie physically slumped in relief. "Oh my _God_ , uh… Dried. I think I'll need like, four ounces? Thank you _so_ much." The man gave her a friendly smile and a nod before he disappeared through the colorful glass beads. She let herself fall back against the large wooden countertop, her elbows supporting her weight as she let herself breathe for a moment and look at the little shop. It was _peaceful_ , which was probably on purpose, especially if this guy knew what he was doing.

The man walked out casually, holding out two jars of the dried leaves. She sighed once more in relief and turned around as she reached into her bag to take her wallet out. He started ringing her up as he tried to strike up a conversation.

"Just so you know, this is high in-"

"Oxalic acid, yeah I know." She said before he could say any more. She admittedly hadn't known much about it before Alan had asked her to go hunting for it, so she had stopped at the house on her way out of town, picking up the large Herbal that her father had labored over for _months_ trying to rewrite.

The man looked at her, impressed with her quick knowledge and nodded. "Brilliant, you sound like you know what you're doing."

She couldn't help but crack a small grin, "More or less. It depends on the day." She answered, drawing out a grin from the man. He finished ringing her up and she slipped him the appropriate bills.

He quickly placed the money in the register and turned his attention to putting the jars into a small paper bag. "Sorrel is a really specific herb, what're you making?" He asked curiously, holding out the bag for her to take.

She gave him a knowing grin and tapped the side of her nose. "Just gotta stay stocked up, you know? Never know when you need something. Have a good night."

He gave an accepting nod and lifted a hand in farewell, watching as she quickly left the little shop.

Annie practically threw herself into her car before speeding out of the parking lot and back onto the dimly lit, winding back roads. Once again, only the sound of her music and GPS filling the silence. It didn't take very long for her to return to the clinic, there were no longer any other stops she had to make and she had _admittedly_ gone _way_ over the speed limit in some of the more _remote_ areas.

Parking the car, she grabbed the paper bag along with her own messenger bag and quickly got out. Slinging the bag across her body, she went around the back and entered the clinic. She looked down into the paper bag to look at the jars of sorrel, just making sure they were still intact after her wild drive back and called out to her uncle as she entered the main observation room.

"I had to go like, _four_ towns over, so you totally have to pay me back for gas, but I go-What the _hell_ is going on?"

Annie's eyes were wide as she gazed at the scene laid out in front of her. Alan was bleeding profusely as he was strapped to a chair with Derek Hale standing over him menacingly and Scott was, _of course_ , present. There was a wad of cotton in his hands, it was clear that he was trying to tend to the doctor's wounds, but it did nothing to calm her down.

"This isn't what it looks like." Scott was quick to try and placate the fuming brunette.

"Oh, thank _God_ , 'cause from what I can see either you or Derek Hale decided to use my uncle's _face_ as a punching bag. I'm gonna have to go with _Derek Hale_." Scott looked at her nervously. The way she spoke was casual, but it was her apparent constraint that put him on edge.

She turned her body slightly to the left, hiding the bag that was slung over her shoulder as she carefully and slowly reached in so as to not draw attention to herself. The tips of her fingers grazed against the cool metal of a mace canister.

It had been her mother's idea, she had to give credit where credit was due, the woman had been _wild_ when it came to silly ideas to defend themselves. Wolfsbane in a mace container? It was one way to get the job done. Annie never had the opportunity to use it, but if she were being completely honest, she was kind of _itching_ to do so now, especially at seeing her bleeding uncle.

Derek took a menacing step towards her, baring his teeth as he glared down at her. "Look, you have no idea what we're up against." He snarled at her.

Annie remained rooted to the spot, her free hand balling up into a fist as she tried to calm herself down so that she didn't do something utterly _dumb_ like try and take a swing at the guy. "Don't get _testy_ with me, _Fido_." She snapped back, her shoulders tensing as she glared at the two. "There's an Alpha werewolf on the loose and you're trying to figure out who it is." She answered, her tone conveying the information as though it was the most obvious thing possible.

Scott gazed at her with a wide and confused gaze. "How do you _know_ all that?"

She almost wanted to _laugh_ at the question.

"Aside from the fact that you and Stiles are _dumbasses_ who don't know the meaning of an _indoor voice_?" She asked pointedly, raising her brows at him. She got a certain kind of satisfaction watching Scott wince at the answer. "Alan and I already _knew_." She bit out the admission.

Derek's gaze darkened, "Are you hunters?" he asked sharply, Annie scoffed at the thought.

"Not at all."

Scott looked at her, his confusion seeming to grow exponentially, his brows furrowing, "Well… what _are_ you? How do you know about all this?"

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter, we're _human_. Now, let him go before he bleeds out, holy _shit_." She was definitely _exaggerating_ , he totally wouldn't bleed out from the injuries he had, but nevertheless, they looked _bad_ and watching Derek's hands ball into frustrated fists _that_ close to Alan just made her antsy.

Derek took another step towards her, his eyes conveying something she could only describe as _mania_. "Look, I _know_ he's the alpha. Don't even try to defend him."

She gazed at him in silence with narrowed eyes for several moments before shaking her head. "Oh my _God_ , you're an _idiot_." She said quietly, fully knowing he'd be able to hear her perfectly. "Don't you think I'd _know_ if he was a werewolf?"

"Who's to say you're not just trying to protect him?" He countered back.

She scoffed, her free hand lifting to point at herself. " _Me_! I'm not _lying_ , you'd be able to tell if I _was_." She said, as though he needed the reminder to use his own abilities.

"Well, you've got the scars to prove it." He lifted a hand to point at her. "Those are from a werewolf."

Annie stood there, her mouth slightly agape as she just stared at the tall, glowering man. Utter disbelief was clear in her eyes as she scrunched up her face in what could only be described as irritated disgust. "Hey, _asshole_ there are more than _three_ werewolves in the country." She waved an aggressive hand in his general direction, gesturing towards his whole body.

"We don't have time for this." He growled. He turned around and reached forwards, grabbing Alan by the lapels of his lab coat. Annie stepped forwards, her left hand finally revealing itself from the bag it was hiding in, her jaw set and eyes blazing.

"Don't _touch_ him." Her voice was flat, but it left no room for argument.

Derek first looked at her and then to the little mace can in her hand before returning his gaze to her face. He looked at her as though he wasn't sure if he should laugh or snarl. "Pepper spray?" He sneered, raising a skeptical brow up. " _Really_ , you think that'll hurt us?"

A tight, challenging smile made its way to her lips as she tilted her head mockingly. "Well, when it's _wolfsbane oil_ in the canister, then I'm thinking that _yes_ , it _will_ hurt you…" She said sweetly before she righted her head and fixed her steady gaze on him. "A lot." She finished, dropping the smile. "Now get away from him." She ordered, nodding to her left, gesturing away from where Alan sat.

He clenched his jaw, looking at her darkly but did as she told him. Letting go of the unconscious vet, Derek stepped back and began pacing silently. Scott remained in place, watching her with wide eyes, his gaze shifting from her face, down to the canister, and back up to her face.

Derek walked towards Scott, his impatience painfully clear. "Do you have a plan?" He asked, drawing Scott's attention back to him.

Scott pressed his lips together, keeping his gaze down. "Just… give me an _hour_."

"Then what?" Derek asked immediately.

Scott paused for a moment before he looked up, "Meet me at the school. In the parking lot." He said quietly.

Annie watched the two carefully, her right hand reaching over to clutch at her left elbow, the mace canister still firmly gripped in her left hand. Derek exhaled slowly and loudly as he turned and paced for several moments before turning back to look at Scott. He lifted a hand and pointed to the unconscious vet.

"He stays with me." He declared.

Annie clenched her jaw and took a step forwards. "Then I guess we're going to get _real_ nicely acquainted, 'cause there's no way in _hell_ I'm leaving you alone with him." Derek looked at her, taking in her whole appearance. She didn't _seem_ all that threatening, on the contrary, it was like watching a small dog try to act like a big one. But it was the unconventional form of wolfsbane clutched in her hand that made him nervous. Sprayed wolfsbane would be _hell_ to try and get rid of, which, was probably why she had it in the first place.

He mimicked her and clenched his jaw, only giving her one nod before walking past and storming out.

She turned to look at Scott, who was still trying to clean Alan up before he huffed in frustration. He looked up at her with sad eyes. "Annie, I am _so_ sorry. I didn't think he'd get hurt."

His apology was genuine, that much she could tell. She stuffed the canister back into her bag and took several steps forward and took the wad of cotton from his hand. "Keep your apologies. Just watch yourself and don't do anything stupid, McCall." She warned, turning to her uncle and resuming tending to his wounds.

Scott swallowed hard and nodded once, determination in his expression as he walked past her, making his way outside. Pausing in her actions, she seemed to slump with a long, audible exhale. She turned to look in the direction he walked out and then looked back down at her unconscious uncle before letting out a single softly uttered, but emphatic, word.

" _Fuck_."

* * *

This was the second time she found herself sitting in the passenger's seat of Derek's Camaro, and once again she was sure she _reeked_ of anxiety, this time though, she was noticeably angrier instead of just _purely_ scared. She was _totally_ overreacting. After treating Alan's injuries, she knew that once he woke up he'd be completely fine, Save for, perhaps, a mild concussion.

 _But_ , she wasn't sorry for her response to what she had walked in on.

Seeing her uncle, a man who had accepted her into his home and, despite her pushback, only wanted to see her healthy and thriving, bleeding at the hands of two _werewolves_ had struck something in her very core

It was _fear_ , she realized after Derek and Scott had left the room.

The very sight of dark scarlet beads rolling down her uncle's face had struck absolute fear into her heart and she was naturally fighting against it, naturally wanted to take control of the situation. And the only way she knew how to do that was to critically berate the actions of the _assholes_ who had sent her into a panic.

"Idiots." She muttered under her breath, fully aware that the already annoyed werewolf beside her would be able to hear her _perfectly_.

Derek inhaled sharply and gripped the steering wheel tighter, but kept his gaze forward. "I _know_ it's him." He snapped back, the defense clear in his voice.

A part of her was just _itching_ for a fight, and Derek had just taken up the bait _beautifully_. She whipped her head to the side to look at him furiously, an angry glint in her eyes. "You _knowing_ something and you _believing_ something are two _very_ different things." She twisted slightly in her seat so that she could face him completely, her eyes narrowed as she continued on her rant. "One of those options doesn't need _actual_ supporting evidence." She retorted.

He said nothing, but her eyes were drawn to the way his hands tightened even more around the wheel, his knuckles paling. He was trying hard to control himself and what he said.

The same _really_ couldn't be said about her.

" _Also_ , you're leaving it up to _Scott_ to sort this out?" She pressed on. Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes and childishly crossed her arms as she slumped back into the seat. "The kid only _just_ went through werewolf puberty nearly a _month_ ago."

She could hear his slow exhale out of his nostrils as he only continued to control his temper. "What _options_ do we have left? This alpha is attacking people and _Scott's_ the _only_ one who can lead us to it."

Annie clenched her jaw as she rolled her eyes, sinking deeper into the passenger seat, looking remarkably like an unhappy child. "Be as that _may_ , he's still a _sixteen_ -year-old _kid_ who barely knows how his own _human_ body works, let alone how his _werewolf_ one does. You're putting a lot of faith in his ability to provide you with what you need." She turned to look at him with a raised brow.

He refused to take his eyes off the road, but his grip on the wheel seemed to loosen just a bit. "Like I said." He said tightly. "What options do we _have_?"

"That's just a shitty way of saying _desperate times call for desperate measures_ , and cliches never end well." She warned, rolling her eyes before letting her head fall against the passenger side window.

"Well, what would _you_ do?" He challenged, finally dragging his eyes away from the road to look at her for a few moments before dragging them back.

The question caught her off guard, and it was probably the _precise_ reason he asked it. It was one thing to just _yell_ at the guy for not coming up with an alternative, but it was another thing _completely_ to be put in his position and be asked to come up with something better. Inwardly, she commended him for calling her out on her bullshit like that. He had a _good_ point to make.

 _But_ Annie was petty and stubborn.

She lifted her head off the window and started out speaking slowly, preparing to just _bullshit_ on the spot. "You're… _right,_ when you say that Scott would be the easiest way of getting to the alpha, _but_ like _I_ said, he doesn't know what he's doing."

She shook her head, her hand rising to bury itself in her curls, her elbow leaning against the window. "He was thrown into the world without a mentor and _full_ offense, but you could _hardly_ be counted as one. You've been a shitty excuse for a mentor. Stalking doesn't exactly instill a strong sense of _confidence_ in the stalk-ee."

Derek rolled his eyes at her choice of words but nevertheless remained silent. Whether it was because he was considering her words or simply not dignifying them with an answer, she wasn't quite sure but Annie certainly wasn't finished.

"Were you born into this?" She asked, turning to look at him.

She watched as his eyes shifted towards her before shifting quickly back towards the road. He gave a nondescript grunt that gave her all the answers she needed.

Annie scoffed and dropped her hand from her hair as she crossed her arms. "Explains it. Privileged-ass little-"

" _Excuse_ me?" He interrupted incredulously.

Uncrossing her arms, she pointed accusingly at him. " _You_ had a support system built into your upbringing. _You_ had people who had knowledge and experience practically assigned to you from _birth_. Who does _Scott_ have? A pasty, white boy with Google and Adderall? A broody, stalker who unnecessarily freaks him out? A-"

"A lying teenage girl unwilling to help him even when she knows a _lot_ more than she's letting on?"

She snapped her mouth shut and gave him a dirty look before turning to look out to the road. Pursing her lips, she crossed her arms and let silence flood the conversation, promptly ending it.

In trying to condemn Derek she had only condemned _herself_. But maybe she _deserved_ to be condemned, to be called on her bullshit. All the promises to keep herself safe _were_ just that, if she were being completely honest: just… _bullshit_. Who was she kidding? She wasn't the kind of person to sit back when she could _do_ something, and Derek was _right_.

She had been _unwilling_ to help Scott. It wasn't that she _couldn't_.

She just… _didn't_.

Maybe if she had stepped in earlier Scott wouldn't have had to deal with trying to bullshit his way through his early werewolf days. Maybe if she had stepped in earlier, Alan wouldn't be thrown in the backseat of Derek Hale's Camaro, all bloody and bruised.

 _God,_ and now she felt _guilty_.

She shot an irritated look to the beta to her left and he, of course, ignored her.

Annie knew she was a _pro_ at lamenting over the past, but there was no use in doing so now. Everyone involved shared some sort of blame in regards to the resulting situation they found themselves in.

It was just a matter of not fucking it up even _more_.

* * *

They arrived several moments after Scott and Stiles. The two teenage boys were already out of the Jeep and standing waiting for the two of them, with Stiles holding a pair of large bolt cutters.

Annie wasn't all that surprised at seeing Stiles being brought into this, and he didn't seem all that surprised to see her step out of Derek's car. Scott probably filled him in on what he knew with respect to _her_ involvement, which she guessed was mostly _speculation_ on his part. She hadn't revealed much to him, which _definitely_ accounted for the suspicious looks the two shot at her.

"Where's my boss?" Scott asked Derek as the man walked around his car, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket.

"In the back." He answered shortly.

Stiles peered in through the window, squinting to look at the vet who was lying across the back seats, his head bent awkwardly against the door on the other side. He straightened up and shot Derek a sarcastic smile. "Ah, well he looks _comfortable_."

Scott patted Stiles on the arm and the two of them turned to walk towards the locked school. Before she could say anything, Derek beat her to the punch. "Wait, hey. What are you doing?" He exclaimed, looking at the two of them in irritation.

Scott turned around and shrugged. "You said I was linked to the Alpha. I'm gonna see if you're right." He turned back around and continued up the steps with Stiles, who got to work on breaking the lock to the main doors.

Annie narrowed her eyes as she leaned against the Camaro, letting her ankles cross in front of her. Raising her hands, she cupped the sides of her mouth. "What is that even supposed to _mean_?" She asked, calling after them.

Both Scott and Stiles ignored her as they continued their mission to break and enter and then do _whatever the hell it was they were planning_. She let out a sound of mild disgust as she crossed her arms and prepared to get comfortable. Derek walked towards Stiles' Jeep and leaned against the back, staring at her with steely eyes. She only raised a challenging eyebrow at him, which he responded to with a shake of his head and a roll of his eyes.

They stood in complete silence, only the slight rustling of the trees around them and light chirping from various wildlife surrounding the school filled the night air. That is, until a loud, indescribable _yowling_ broke through the silence, making Annie jump rather obviously in alarm.

At first, it _genuinely_ sounded like someone had taken a microphone and put it up to a cat who had been _sat on_ , but she quickly put two and two together, realizing that there was no _poor cat_ , but there certainly was a _poor Scott_.

Derek handled the screeching a lot more casually than she did, but he closed his eyes, like the attempt at a roar had caused him to feel major disappointment. , "You've _got_ to be kidding me." Derek muttered in irritation.

She could only give him a pointed look, "See? Hasn't even gone through werewolf puberty!" She said, gesturing generally towards the school. Derek only clenched his jaw and shook his head once more.

Several more moments of silence passed and Derek looked up at her. She only responded with a shrug before shifting her gaze towards the front doors of the school, fully expecting the two boys to come back out to discuss another strategy considering _theirs_ was obviously _dumb_.

But then came a _deep_ , rumbling roar. Objectively, it was _impressive._ But situationally, it wasn't _ideal_.

It was the type of roar that made her break out into a cold sweat, her heart race wildly, her hands begin to shake as she instinctively felt the need to just _run_. She swallowed her fear down hard, reminding herself that it was just _Scott_. Sweet and _dumb_ Scott. She looked at the older beta weakly. "Sounds like someone's balls just dropped."

"They're going to attract all the packs in the area at this rate." He snapped.

She held her hands up in a placating gesture, "Don't bite at me, Fido. I wasn't the one who forced the kid's _paw_. _You_ made him feel like he needed to do something."

Derek inhaled slowly, his hand going to pinch the bridge of his nose. He pushed himself off of his position leaning against the Jeep to glower in the direction of the front door, preparing to chew the two idiots out the minute they walked out. It didn't take very long for Scott and Stiles to bound out of the school with large, proud grins on their faces.

Derek was very _clearly_ not impressed.

She uncrossed her ankles and slowly walked over to the trio, standing beside Derek as he aggressively pointed at the two boys. "I'm going to kill _both_ of you."

"In a surprising turn of events, I'm with the big bad wolf over here." She nodded her head towards him.

Derek ignored her, completely driven by his irritation towards Scott. "What the _hell_ was _that_?" He yelled. "What are you trying to do? Attract the entire state to the school?"

Scott shook his head, looking from Derek, to her, to Stiles, and back to Derek. "Sorry, I didn't know it would be that _loud_." He said with the smallest hint of a smile on his lips.

Stiles was a lot less _subtle_ than his best friend. He grinned, "Yeah, it was loud." He nodded emphatically, "And it was _awesome_." He pitched his voice higher, singing the last word as he looked at Scott, who finally laughed.

"Shut up." Derek said, once again, completely unamused by the two in front of him.

"Don't be such a _sourwolf_." Stiles teased, raising a hand to gesture vaguely to the older beta.

Annie pursed her lips, not impressed by how the two just didn't _think_ of possible consequences. "No, he's _right,_ Stilinski. What you just did was _idiotic_ to the _max_." Their grins slowly melted from their faces. "Do you even know what you're going to do now? What happens if the Alpha shows up? You gonna sit down and have a nice convo over a cup of coffee? 'Cause I dunno if you've been paying attention but it seems more like the _maiming_ and _murdering_ type than anything else."

Stiles pressed his lips together, only looking at Scott as though he were passing the questions off to him to answer, but Scott wasn't paying attention to her at all.

He frowned and peered into the Camaro. "What'd you do with him?" He asked sharply, moving his gaze to look at Derek before moving it back to look into the car.

" _What_?" Both Annie and Derek asked at the same time. The two turned around to peer into the backseat, only to find it completely empty with the door on the other side left open. Before she could see it coming, she felt hands grab the front of her jacket and drag her past Stiles, who let out a yell of alarm. Derek pinned her up violently against the back of the Jeep, making her cry out in pain as she felt her back hit the car. She was met by Derek's furious gaze, his eyes flashing blue as he snarled at her.

" _What'd you do_."

It was the flashing of his eyes, the subtle threat of him losing control, that _especially_ got to her.

"Let me _go_ , Hale!" She shouted in panic, her eyes widening as she kicked her legs out in a struggle.

Over Derek's head, she could see Scott and Stiles take a step forward, as though to intervene.

"What. Did. You. _Do_?" He repeated, emphasizing each word by pressing his fists harder against her clavicle.

She continued kicking out at him, "I was standing right in _front_ of you the whole _time,_ you _asshole_! I didn't _do_ anything!"

He tilted his head slightly, like he was listening for something, and she realized that he must've just been listening for a _lie_. She wriggled around in his grip a little more before he just _dropped_ her, making her stumble. She shot out a hand to lean against the Jeep in an attempt to steady herself while staring up at him with a dirty glare.

Several tense moments of silence followed the aggressive interaction, and the four of them were left to just stare at each other. But three out of the four were moved into sudden action as a low growling and the sound of rapid footsteps approaching broke through the silent night air.

Not a moment later did Derek Hale lurch forwards, a look of clear pain and surprise on his face as the sick sound of muscle and flesh being torn rang out. Blood spurted out from the middle of his torso and his mouth, making Annie flinch as several warm droplets spattered across her face.

Scott and Stiles let out shouts of terror as they grabbed each other and started running backward.

Annie couldn't even find it within herself to let out a _breath_.

Staring into the blood red eyes of the alpha sent her into a heart-stopping panic. And just for a fraction of a moment, it wasn't Derek in front of her, blood violently pouring out of him. In her mind's eye, she could see her mother, _feel_ the terror that had coursed through her veins as she _heard_ her screams of pain, her screams to her daughter to just _get away._

" _Annie! Run, Annie! Run!_ "

She felt herself open her mouth, as though she were about to call out to her mother, just as she had done all those months ago. She could feel herself begin to say _some_ thing when the sound of odd, misplaced voices violently snapped her back into the present moment.

"Annie, _c'mon! Run_!"


	8. Paroxysm

Fight or flight was one _hell_ of a physical response.

Annie could vaguely remember when she was younger, maybe around eleven or twelve, when her mother had come back from some kind of medical conference or something. She had gone to a seminar on the response since, being an ER surgeon, the lasting effects of fight or flight often made a star appearance in many of her cases.

She could remember how her mom's eyes lit up as she talked about it with her dad, who didn't understand half of the medical jargon she was spouting out but nevertheless, he listened intently. And while Annie couldn't remember all the intricate details of what happened when a life-threatening event made itself known, she _could_ remember the fact that the body pretty much got ready to _fuck itself up_.

 _So_ much went into preparing the body to either defend its right to be _wherever_ it was _or_ run away like a little bitch. Her blood was pumping hard, her muscles tensed and coiled as her body braced itself for whatever it was she ultimately decided the best course of action was. She had an important _split-second_ decision to make and that decision would lead to a series of events that would determine whether she lived or died.

And Annie Emery was currently _very_ proud to be a little bitch.

She was wrenched violently out of her own memories. The voice of her mother yelling for her to run away transitioned immediately to Scott and Stiles _screaming_ at her to just _move_ somehow, to just get out of the alpha's reach. Gasping loudly, she twisted and nearly collided face first into Stiles' Jeep, stumbling as she hurried to run from the angrily roaring alpha, flinching as Derek's body flew overhead and landed with a sick _thump_ feet away from her left.

Scott kept the door open _just_ long enough for her to narrowly slip through. Annie threw herself into the school, tripping unceremoniously over her feet and falling hard to the ground. She threw her hands out right in time to catch herself, wincing as jolts of pain ran up her arms. She rolled over and looked at the two boys trying to hold the two doors closed.

She looked down at her hands, watching as they shook violently before remembering that there was _blood_ on her face. She pulled the sleeves of her sweater down past the sleeve of her jacket and began vigorously rubbing at her cheeks, feeling dizzy and as though she were about to start hyperventilating.

"Lock it! Lock it!" Scott exclaimed.

Stiles looked at him in panicked irritation, eyes wide as he tried to keep the door shut as much as possible. "Do I _look_ like I have a key?"

"Grab _something_!" Scott snapped back.

" _What_?"

" _Anything_!"

A look of realization crossed Stiles' features and he quickly stood up, clearly looking for something out of the little window in the door. Scott, at seeing that Stiles was staring at something, also stood up to see what exactly had caught his best friend's attention.

"No."

" _Yes_."

Annie stopped her panicked and repetitive motions, as she sensed a lull from the panic between the two boys. She couldn't see what Stiles was looking at, but she could put two and two together to guess that he was thinking of going back out there. She shook her head as she swallowed hard. "Stilinski, you'd have to be _beyond_ stupid to even try to go out there right now." She croaked out, standing up unsteadily and brushing herself off, adjusting the strap of her bag across her body.

Scott shook his head at his best friend, echoing Annie's warning. "Stiles, _don't_!"

Stiles ignored both of them and carefully opened the door, wincing as the metal creaked. He looked to his left and right before quickly running down the flight of concrete stairs that led up to the school. Annie had taken up the space Stiles had occupied only moments ago, peeking through the little window of the door with Scott doing the same to her right.

They watched with bated breath as Stiles made his way to the pair of bolt cutters he had dropped earlier. Movement behind the Jeep drew both their gazes towards the very last thing they ever wanted to see. The alpha began crawling slowly, a predatory look gleaming in its eyes as it slowly approached Stiles with a low growl rumbling in its chest.

Annie felt like she was about to be sick.

"Come back!" She called out, swallowing her nausea.

Scott immediately started banging on the door to try and get his best friend's attention."Stiles! Come back!"

Stiles whipped around to look at them with wide eyes before turning his eyes towards his Jeep, only to be met with the formidable form of an angry alpha werewolf. He stumbled as he turned around, flinging himself towards the door, and wrenching it open as fast as he could. Annie threw herself out of the way as Scott backed up into her and made room for Stiles.

Once safely inside, Scott kept the two doors shut as Stiles slipped the bolt cutters between the two cross bars and quickly stepped back. The three of them stood with bated breath in tense silence, trying to listen for any indication that the alpha was right outside. In unison, the unlikely trio slowly inched towards the two little windows in the doors, trying to peer outside and gauge whether they were still in immediate danger.

"Where is it?" Scott whispered, his eyes wide and alert as they darted around the parking lot. " _Where'd it go_?"

Stiles stumbled a bit with a large flashlight, lifting it over Annie's head and turning it on, the strong ray of light illuminating the foreground. Only the sound of their heavy breathing filled the air as the cold realization of being trapped in the school with no way of knowing where exactly the alpha was quickly dawned over them.

"That won't hold, will it?" Scott looked at Stiles.

Stiles slowly dragged his gaze from the door to Scott's eyes. "Probably not." Came the disheartening answer.

Annie's chest heaving so heavily had nothing to do with the fact that she only just _literally_ ran for her life. She might have been rusty but she had done much more running than just _that_ during her track days. No, her accelerated breathing was primarily due to the fact that she was about to completely _lose it_.

She had survived nearly _four_ months ago only to die at school at the hands of another alpha.

Was this just simple _irony_? Or was this the universe giving her a huge middle finger and telling her to fuck the _fuck_ off? Had she committed a heinous crime in a past life that she was having to pay for _now_? Because quite frankly, she couldn't really believe that _one_ person could just have such terrible luck.

Or maybe it was simply because she had fallen into some _terrible_ company.

A distant howl from somewhere that had to have been _inside_ the school loudly sounded out. It echoed throughout the halls, becoming distorted and terror-inducing. The three of them only looked at each other for a split second of a moment before they all scrambled forwards, ambling towards the closest open classroom, Annie barrelling through first.

"The desk!" Stiles exclaimed the minute he ran in.

Meanwhile, Annie felt like the _only_ thing she could do was just _be_ there. She stood frozen in the classroom, vaguely aware of Stiles and Scott behind her, trying to use the desk as a barricade. A part of her told her to move, to try and help the boys with keeping them all safe, but she was just… _shaking_ too much.

She raised her hands to her face, placing them on her cheeks and pressing her palms against her skin. She slid her hands to the back of her neck where she let her fingers dug in deep, a sad attempt at trying to ground herself before she could completely break down. Now was absolutely _not_ the time to be panicking like this.

 _You need to feel, Annie_.

A sage voice that sounded _obnoxiously_ like Marin wedged its way into her chaotic thoughts. She shoved the little voice to the very back of her mind. What she _needed_ was to shut down and deal with the situation as objectively as possible. _Then_ , when they were all out, _alive_ and _breathing_ , and _preferably_ without sporting any new scars, she could allow herself to _feel_.

"Sh, stop, stop! The door's not gonna keep it out." Stiles said.

"I know!" Scott replied before being cut off by his best friend.

"I hate your boss."

Scott looked at him in confusion. "What?"

"Deaton, the _Alpha_? _Your_ boss… And _your_ uncle!"

Annie remained with her back towards the two boys, dropping her hands from her neck and ignoring the slight burning from where she undoubtedly left nail marks. She listened with a clenched jaw as Stiles accused her uncle of being the very beast tormenting them.

" _No_." Scott defended the man, completely unwilling to accept the idea that gentle, helpful Doctor Deaton was the murderous alpha.

Stiles lifted a hand and pointed aggressively at Scott. "Yes! Murdering, _psycho_ werewolf!" He hissed.

She had _enough_.

She needed to pull herself together or she'd be no help to herself, and it was _just_ as she thought before. She had escaped an attack that she hadn't expected to escape one time before, she wouldn't lie down and let her second chance at life be for _nothing_ , especially since her whole family hadn't been so lucky.

Whipping around to look at the two teenage boys, Annie clenched her still-shaking hands into tight fists. "It's not Alan." She snapped impatiently, her chest heaving as adrenaline pulsed through her veins.

Stiles rounded on her, eyes wide and accusation on his lips, as he stuck a finger in her face. "Oh, _come on._ He disappears, and that _thing_ shows up ten seconds later to toss Derek twenty feet through the air?" He asked dubiously. " _That's_ not convenient timing?" He pushed.

Annie bristled in defense of her guardian, shoving Stiles' hand roughly away from her face she crossed her arms tightly against her chest. "I _live_ with the man, I think I would catch on pretty quick if he turned into a murderous, rampaging _dog-man_." She shook her head before quickly adding on, "And just to clarify for you _idiots_ , _he isn't_." She emphasized.

Shootin the two of them a final annoyed glance, she dropped her arms to her sides. "And _maybe_ if you'd use that _thing_ called a brain that, _if I'm being completely honest_ , I'm not exactly sure you _have_ , don't you think Scott would've picked up on an abnormal scent during all that time he spends with him?"

Scott looked at her with uncertainty. "Derek said that the alpha could mask his scent."

"And since when have _you_ been taking _Derek's_ word as the word of God?" She snapped back at him.

Stiles rolled his eyes at her, "He could've been lying to you!" He stated simply like he was pointing out the obvious.

She gave a snort and a firm shake of her head. "Doubtful, there are some pretty _obvious_ signs that one is a werewolf."

"But Derek-" Scott tried once more before Stiles promptly interrupted him.

"Well, Derek's _dead_ now." He hissed, leaning once more against the desk to look at Scott.

Scott furrowed his brows and a frown pulled at the corner of his lips as he looked down at the desk, denial flooding his thoughts."Derek's not dead! He _can't_ be dead."

" _Blood_ spurted out of his mouth, okay?" Stiles exclaimed as quietly as he could, his hand slamming down onto the desk. Annie looked between the two of them, her left hand rising to rub her right arm as she watched the two bicker.

The panic in Stiles' voice was becoming more and more apparent like he was only just now realizing the precariousness of their situation in real time. "That doesn't exactly qualify as a _minor_ injury. He's dead and _we're_ next."

She shook her head, quick to interject. "He might not be. As long as the alpha didn't pierce his heart, or… I dunno, crush his _skull_ , he should be able to heal from it." The two boys looked at her with vastly differing expressions. Stiles gave her a sharp glare whereas Scott looked at her with hope in his eyes.

The young werewolf swallowed hard and licked his lips. "Okay, just… What do we do?"

There was a slight lull in the conversation, their rapid breathing once again being the only thing they could hear as they waited for someone to make a plan. Finally, it was Stiles who spoke up first. "We get to my jeep, we get out of here, _you_ seriously think about quitting your job, good?"

Annie shot Stiles a dirty look, throwing her hands up in frustration. "It's not Alan! Oh, my _God_." The boys only ignored her as they walked past her and towards the windows.

She followed slowly, taking up her place to the left of Stiles as they looked out the windows. "If he's any more hurt than he already is, I'm gonna _murder_ you two." she muttered under her breath.

It was then she was struck with the realization that he was still _out_ there. She didn't know where he went, or _when_ he had exactly escaped. But his success all relied on the timing. Maybe he got out just in time.

Or maybe the alpha had already torn into him and a gruesomely familiar scene was awaiting her somewhere outside.

She pushed down her nausea. _Think about all that when you're_ safe _, Emery_ , she reminded herself. As much as she wanted to curl up in the corner of the classroom and just _hope_ for the best, she knew it wouldn't do _anyone_ , least of all _her_ , any good. She raised her hands and let them rest on the window sill as she looked outside, just hoping she wouldn't see her uncle's body laying somewhere on the asphalt.

Scott reached out and tried to pry the windows open before Stiles grabbed his arms and pushed them down. "No, they don't open, the school's climate-controlled."

"Then we _break_ it." Scott breathed like it was the most obvious solution to the problem.

Annie shook her head vehemently, leaning forward slightly to peek out from where Stiles' body was hiding her. " _News flash_ , McCall, breaking glass makes a _lot_ of sounds and a lot of sounds will _definitely_ attract the alpha our way."

"Then… Then we run really fast." Scott said, his chest heaving as he continued to scan the scene for any sign of the alpha. A moment of silence settled over them like a blanket while they processed his less than _stellar_ plan. Scott tore his gaze away from the parking lot to look at the two of them desperately. " _Really_ fast."

Scott turned around and looked in the direction of the two cars, a frown pulling at the corners of his mouth. "Stiles, what's wrong with the hood of your jeep?"

Stiles furrowed his brows in confusion. "What do you mean? Nothing's wrong?"

"It's bent!" Scott exclaimed.

Stiles scrambled forward, becoming immediately upset at the idea of his car being damaged. " _Dented_?"

"No, I mean _bent_."

As they were busy staring in the direction of the Jeep, Annie slid over a bit more to the left, seeing a movement from out of her periphery.

A slow familiar feeling began spreading, starting from the pit of her stomach, like nervous butterflies fluttering wildly. It rose up within her, wilder and wilder, making her hands shake even more. It made her nervous, that feeling, especially considering up until now she had only felt it before something _bad_ was about to happen and right before she was about to do something she really _shouldn't_ be able to do.

Just as though she knew exactly where to look, her gaze floated over to her left. Her hand began to rise on it own, the rushing feeling in the pit of her stomach nearly making her double over in pain. And just when she was about to give into the feeling, she made a split second decision.

In her experience, every single time she gave into that impulse, that pulling _instinct_ , she found herself at the doors of unconsciousness. Being the least bit _dizzy_ right now would mean probable _death_. She couldn't afford to be incapacitated in any way, especially if it would only put them at the mercy of the alpha. And while she didn't think the two would leave her behind if she was unconscious, she didn't want to risk her chances, especially since the two of them seemed to be warily suspicious of her now.

Annie inhaled sharply as she unceremoniously flung herself to the right, pushing Scott and Stiles down to the ground. She ignored their loud protests at having been tackled and flinched as, not a moment later, the glass of the window she had been standing right in front of completely shattered. Stiles sat upright and lifted the flashlight, illuminating the ground in front of them and revealing that it was the battery to his car that had been sent through the window.

Stiles looked at the projectile that laid in front of them, lifting a shaking finger to point at it. "That's my battery." he whispered in horror, eyes widening.

Annie pressed herself against the wall, her chest heaving.

Stiles began to scramble up, and she could practically feel the panic rolling off of him. Scott reached out and pulled him down immediately. "Don't!" he warned.

"We _have_ to move." Stiles turned his head to Scott.

Scott looked at him like he was crazy. "He could be _right_ outside!"

"He _is_ right outside!" Stiles hissed back.

"Just let me take a look." Scott said in frustration before moving to stand up slowly.

Stiles looked to his right where Annie still sat, her arms circling her knees and her lips pressed together. Her eyes were wide and almost… _unseeing_ , her gaze trained on the open doorway of the classroom. "Annie?" He whispered.

She jolted and turned her head quickly to face him, a look of confusion on her face. He only furrowed his brows at her, "Are… you good?"

She cleared her throat and nodded, giving him an annoyed look as she tried to recover from her lapse in composure. "I'm fine." She bit.

Stiles rolled his eyes before looking up at Scott who was looking out the window. "Anything?" He asked, slowly standing up to join the werewolf.

"No." Scott replied in a hushed whisper, shaking his head. He didn't know if this was better or worse than knowing _exactly_ where the alpha was.

"Move now?" Stiles asked.

Scott looked at him, nodding almost imperceptibly. "Move now." He confirmed.

Annie finally willed herself to stand up and she brushed off the pieces of glass that had fallen on her, shaking out her hair and grimacing at the light tinkling sounds of glass falling from the curls. She'd have to be extra careful not to accidentally cut herself. She followed the two boys out of the classroom, frowning as they stood in the hall for a moment, looking down both ends of the hallway.

"This way." Scott whispered, beginning to make his way down the hall.

Stiles was quick to grab at him. "No! No, no, no, no." He protested.

"What?" Scott asked, eager to just get _some_ where.

"Somewhere without windows." Stiles said. Annie looked at him with appreciation. That was smart, especially with what just happened.

Scott looked at him in irritation, "Every single _room_ in this building has windows." He hissed, holding his hands out helplessly.

"Or somewhere with _less_ windows." Stiles countered, rolling his eyes.

Annie rubbed her forearm as she looked between them. "The school has locker rooms, doesn't it? And a basement?"

Stiles looked deep in thought, "The basement's probably all locked up."

It looked like their decision had been made _for_ them. She rolled her eyes, " _Okay_ , so locker room it is." She said.

The two boys nodded and started taking off in the direction of their newest safe haven. Annie began to follow but winced at the loud tapping sound of her heels. Biting her lip, she sighed before slipping the booties off. She bent down and scooped them into her hands before sprinting after the boys, trying to make up for the lost distance between them.

Stiles held the door open for her, quickly ushering her in before looking left and right, checking their surroundings and the securely shut the door. He joined Annie and Scott behind the first row of lockers.

"Call your dad." Scott said urgently.

Stiles looked at him with doubt. "And tell him _what_?"

"I don't know, anything. Gas leak, a fire, whatever. If that thing sees a parking lot filled with cop cars, it'll take off!" Scott said, optimism lighting up his expression.

Optimism that Annie was _all_ too happy to crush.

She immediately shook her head. As she casually began countering his argument, she dropped her shoes onto the bench in the middle f the aisle." _Or_ it'll just attack everyone since bullets won't do much to hinder a big, bad, _angry_ alpha."

The two turned to look at her with a glare and she lifted her hands up in a defensive action. "Okay, _sorry_ , you're _right_. It'll get scared of some _scary_ red and blue lights and run away with its figurative tail between its legs."

Stiles faltered as he considered her words before looking at Scott with concern. "She has a _point_ though, Scott! What if it goes all terminator and kills every cop in sight, _including_ my dad!"

Scott lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "They…. They have gu-"

She lifted an eyebrow and placed a hand on her hip, almost offended that he wasn't thinking this through. "You _seriously_ don't pay attention to _anything_ I say, do you?" She asked, frustration lacing every word. " _Believe me_ , regular guns won't do anything to an angry alpha."

Stiles lifted a hand and gestured towards her. " _Again_ , she has a _point_." His hand went up to rub the top of his head, in an anxious gesture. "Derek had to be shot with a wolfsbane-laced bullet to even _slow him down_. You remember that?"

Annie's eyes lit up in realization. "Wolfsbane!" She whispered, her hand reaching into the bag at her side.

"What? What is it?" Stiles asked, looking down at her with a raised brow.

She held the flap of her bag open as she just peered down into, a line appearing between her brows as her eyes burned with determination. "Okay listen, assholes. I don't have a _lot_ of wolfsbane, but I have some." She said, lifting the familiar metal canister she had threatened Scott and Derek with only hours prior.

Stiles looked at her in confusion, "That looks like… pepper spray." He commented, shooting a glance to Scott, who had a look of wariness accompanying the look of realization on his face.

She lifted her chin, "Wolfsbane oil." She corrected tiredly.

" _Okay_ , but that doesn't look like _a lot_." Stiles pushed.

She nodded, confirming his concerns. "It's _not_. Not enough to single-handedly take down an alpha, anyways." She swallowed hard as she looked at the little metal can in her hand. "We'll have to be smart with how we use it." She muttered, slipping it back into her bag.

Scott's hand rose to grasp at the roots of his hair. "Okay. We… we have to… We have to find a way out and just _run_ for it."

"There's nothing near the school for at least a _mile_." Stiles reminded him. Annie found herself begrudgingly appreciating Stiles more and more for his ability to think about the future and not just what they needed to do right then at the moment. Granted, he still made _questionable_ decisions and his suspicion of her would undoubtedly lead to pushback from him, but at least he could act as a semblance of a voice of reason for Scott.

"What about Derek's car?" Scott asked, realization immediately flooding his expression.

For the first time that night, Stiles' eyes widened in not fear, but _excitement_. The chance of an opportunity to succeed. "That could work! We go outside, grab the keys off his body, _ugh_ , and then we _take_ his car!"

Scott frowned at his plan, "But we need to take him too!'' He said.

Annie nodded in agreement. "At the very least _check_ on him. He might still be alive." She said, making the two boys look down at her with uncertainty.

"You really think he might be alive?" Scott asked, his big brown eyes shining with hope. Annie swallowed down the urge to sigh. As problematic as Scott was, he truly didn't want anyone to get hurt, even if it was _Derek_.

"Might. Keyword." She settled with. She didn't want to bring his hopes up. "We don't know _anything_ right now. We need to come up with _one_ goal and stick with it before we get overwhelmed with too much. Our main goal right now. Get outside, get to a car, and if it's safe, find his body."

Stiles rolled his eyes and held his hands up, " _Fine_ , whatever." He said carelessly as he backed away and started towards the door to the locker room. As he reached for the door handle, Scott grabbed his forearm aggressively, his eyes wide with alarm.

Stiles looked at him with confusion in his eyes. "What?"

Scott dropped his voice to barely a whisper, "I think I heard something." He said, his brows furrowed in concentration.

Annie's gaze snapped towards Scott at the same time Stiles retorted sharply, "Like _what_?"

"Shh! Quiet." Scott snapped back.

They slowly backed away from the door, Scott quickly hitting Stiles' flashlight down and Stiles reacting quickly to turn it towards him and shove it into his shirt to hide the stream of light.

" _Hide_." Scott hissed.

Stiles quickly stumbled towards the closest locker, wrenching the door open and practically shoving himself into it, all the meanwhile Scott was trying to get his attention. " _No, no! Stiles_."

Scott looked around frantically for a place to hide before quickly giving up and mimicking Stiles, choosing a locker directly across from him and throwing himself into it.

Annie might've been terrified out of her mind, but she still wanted to maintain a shred of her dignity. _That_ , and if it _was_ the alpha skulking around out there, then there would be no worse place to be than in a confined space that was essentially a metal coffin.

She quickly rushed over to her left and looked around before turning to the right, making her way to the second stack of lockers and hiding behind them. Pressing herself up against the cool metal, she lifted a hand and pressed it hard against her mouth, her index finger serving to muffle the sharp exhales from her nostrils as well.

She could hear the slight _click_ that came from the door, the metal creaking as it opened. Light and slow footsteps began sounding off in the silence.

The sound of a loud scream, although, one that didn't belong to Scott _or_ Stiles, resounded through the locker room, making her jump and only press herself closer to the lockers. But at hearing two lockers pop open and Stiles urging whoever it was that joined them to quiet down, she let herself peek out from the stack. She quietly approached the two teenagers and, who she could now see was, the janitor.

"Son of a bitch!" The man swore loudly, bending down as he placed a hand on his chest.

"Shh! Quiet!" Stiles pleaded once more.

The janitor stood up and glared at the three of them. "Quiet my _ass_ , what the hell are you trying to do, kill me?" He retorted. He grabbed Stiles' jacket by the arm and looked at them in irritation."The three of you get out." He ordered.

Stiles tried to reason with him again, "Just listen to us for half a _second_ , okay?"

"Not okay!" He replied sharply. "Get the _hell_ out of here right now." He said, pushing them all out of the room.

"God, just one second to explain!" Stiles spoke as he stumbled out of the room.

"Just shut up and go." He snapped, pointing down the hall. But not a moment later, a loud growl sounded off and the man was yanked backward, the door closing right after he disappeared from view.

Annie's startled scream mixed with that of the pained one from the man. She backed away immediately at the sight of the janitor's body being pressed up hard against the opaque, textured glass of the door's window, bright red blood smeared across it.

She nearly lost all the composure she had worked so hard to maintain in those short, split seconds. As she pressed herself up against the wall directly across from the door where she could see the man's eyes widened with pain, his mouth open as a prolonged scream of agony resounded, mingling with the ferocious snarls of the very beast tearing into him.

The man's body was yanked backward once more before being shoved back into the door, this time prompting Scott to act. He shot forward, his hand on the handle as he tried to open the door and help the janitor.

"No, no!" Stiles launched himself at his best friend and grabbed him forcefully, pushing him away from the door. At the same time, he grabbed Annie's forearm, pulling her along and effectively snapping her out of the daze she once more seemed to in.

Shaking her head, she tugged her arm away from his grasp and started pushing herself to run independently.

They made their way as far as they could from the locker room before slowing down slightly and Annie took the opportunity to crouch down to the ground. "Please, please, please, _please_." She muttered, her hands shaking wildly as she haphazardly searched through her bag. She needed a lighter and all she was hoping was that she hadn't taken it out of her bag from the last time she had used it.

Stiles whipped around and looked down at her in frustration. Shooting his hands out and gesturing at her, he couldn't help but snap at her. " _What_ are you doing, Annie? _C'mon_!"

She shook her head and set her jaw determinedly. "No! _Wait_. I can prevent him from following us. For a little bit at least, it'll buy us more time."

Scott stepped forward, taking his place right beside Stiles as they looked down at the frantically searching girl. " _How_? And why haven't you done it yet?"

Her nostrils flared as she exhaled sharply at his questions. " _Because_ I _just_ thought of it? _And_ I need a lighter and if I find one right now it'll be a miracle of such _epic_ proportions that I think I'll be spiritually obligated to sacrifice one of you to the gods." She snapped, only sparing half a second to glance at them. Returning her attention to her bag, she cursed her shaking fingers.

Just as the words left her mouth, though, the tips of her fingers hit smooth plastic and a look of absolute delight crossed her features, making the boys look at each other nervously, having _no_ idea what she was about to do.

Jumping up, she held the lighter up to them, a look of accomplishment clear on her face as she begun to explain her plan to them in hushed tones. "I'm gonna heat up the can of wolfsbane oil, the pressure should build and _hopefully_ make it explode with enough power to force the wolfsbane across a large area." She started speaking faster, excitement filling her tone. They might _actually_ have a chance.

The two boys looked at her, Scott with amazement and Stiles with intrigue, as they listened to her sound off with an exuberance they hadn't seen in her before. "It'll at _least_ deter the alpha from the hallway I set it off in. _And_ if I can time it just right, the alpha should be close enough that it'll do some external damage too."

Scott's amazement melted into worry. "That's a lot of _shoulds_ , Annie." He noted.

Her excitement transitioned incredibly fast into irritation as she glared at the werewolf. "Well, if you two have _anything_ else better, please share. _Preferably_ before we get mauled. I'd rather keep the number of times I go through that to _one_." She snarked, tapping her socked foot impatiently.

Scott could only shake his head, anxiety and unease beginning to make themselves clearly known to him. "Annie, what if you don't time it right? What if-"

She shook her head and interrupted him, holding a hand up. "What if we continue wasting time with _what ifs_? C'mon, we need to _act_." Annie was quickly realizing that out of the three of them, she was the best person to be dealing with an alpha hunting them down.

 _Okay, but… you got caught the last time that happened_.

She shoved the pessimistic little voice away, focusing on the fact that if it wasn't _her_ keeping calm and composed, none of them would. It was just simple psychology, so long as one person appeared in control and looked like they knew what they were doing, everyone else would be less inclined to just _lose their minds_.

 _God_ , she needed to keep her ego in check.

Scott looked at her with wide, uncertain eyes meeting her own which were nothing but steely and determined. But if he looked closer, he could tell she wasn't as sure as she wanted to appear. He gave a big sigh and nodded, finally relenting to her.

She nodded and gestured down the hall with her chin as she backed up several steps. "Okay, both of you should run ahead, especially you Scott. I don't want you inhaling any of this." She said, looking at him seriously.

Stiles finally interjected, lifting a hand to point at the large vent on the ceiling above them. "What about the ventilation system?"

She snapped her gaze to him, the determination quickly being replaced with uncertainty and concern. "Is it on right now?" She asked, her eyes flashing upwards to stare at it.

Scott shook his head and looked at her meaningfully. "Annie, just do it. I'll be fine."

She chewed on her bottom lip and nodded, watching as Stiles patted Scott's shoulder before the two turned and sprinted down the hall, leaving her by herself.

Annie let out a shaky breath and whispered to herself. "Okay, Emery. Don't fuck this up."

She slipped an extra hair tie off her wrist, and with her left hand, she started igniting the lighter. It took several rolls of the sparkwheel for the lighter to ignite, but soon enough, a flame sparked to life. She carefully slipped the hair tie over the little ignition button, She held her breath as she let go of the button, hoping the tie would hold it in place with enough strength that it'd keep the lighter lit. She slipped on her second, and last, hair tie to try and fortify it as best as she could.

" _Fuck yeah_." She breathed, watching the flame dance around. Holding the lighter in her right hand, she shoved her left into her bag and took out the wolfsbane.

 _God_ , she wished she could just go back to when she was threatening Derek. It was an _infinitely_ more preferred situation than the one she was in right now.

She carefully placed the metal container on the ground in the middle of the hall, gently placing the lighter next to it. She shifted the canister so that its bottom was touching the middle of the flame.

It was just a waiting game now.

She backed away slowly, only the sound of her light, padded footsteps filling the hall. Annie pursed her lips in frustration, there was no _real_ way to know when the canister would explode, or even if the contents would get hot enough for it to explode _at all_.

Hearing a low growling approaching, Annie's stress levels jumped exponentially. She started backing up even more, but her gaze was glued to the makeshift apparatus she had just thrown together. Part of her wanted to stay and make sure it would work, but the logically part of her mind yelled at her to just _run_. Like she had already said, there was no way to know _when_ it would burst. Shaking her head, she forced herself to turn and start running. She couldn't be there if it worked and the thing _exploded_ , the goal was to injure the alpha, not _herself_.

She continued running down the hall until she heard hushed, but aggressive voices. Taking a left, she found Scott and Stiles speedwalking down the hall, their backs facing her.

"-not dying here. I'm not dying at _school_." She could hear Stiles lamenting.

So much for trying to stay calm and composed.

"We're _not_ going to _die_." Scott retorted, jumping as he heard Annie running up behind them. He twisted and looked at her with wide eyes.

"Annie! Is it done? Did you do it?" He asked. Stiles peered over Scott's shoulder, curiosity in his eyes.

She nodded, giving herself a minute to catch her breath. "I didn't stick around for obvious reasons, but it's set up. If nothing else, it might just make him curio-" A loud bang interrupted her, making the three of them flinch and duck instinctively. But it was followed by the sound of a loud, furious roar.

Annie whipped around to look in the direction of the hall she had just come from, a look of manic triumph shining in her eyes. "Okay, let's get moving. I don't wanna see how pissed off it just got."

And with that the three continued down the hall, frantically looking for another escape. They walked in silence before Stiles broke it with, what only could be described as, a panicked stream of consciousness. " _God_ , what is he doing? What does he _want_?"

" _Me_!" Scott cried out. He jerked his hand up, "Derek says it's stronger with a pack."

Stiles' mouth twisted and he lifted his hands up and immediately let them drop to his sides like he was giving up. "Yeah, _great_. A psychotic werewolf who's into teamwork. That's-that's _beautiful_."

Annie lifted her right shoulder in a half-shrug, "Well, that means at the very least, _Scott's_ getting out of here alive. Yay for Scott, I guess."

Stiles turned his head towards her so fast, they could all hear it crack quietly. His free hand reached up to rub at it while he gave the girl a dirty look. "Absolutely _not_ helping."

Scott suddenly struck out his hand and stopped them from walking any further as he squinted out the window to Annie's left. Stiles and Annie looked in the direction that Scott was so focused on and Annie nearly wanted to pass out right then and there. In the darkness, two piercing ruby red eyes glowed impossibly bright, and suddenly it felt like she was in a forest in Maine.

Squeezing her eyes shut momentarily, she shook her head and opened them once more. _Calm and composed, Emery, stay calm and composed_.

That was going to be significantly harder to do considering the alpha was heading right at them.

The trio was quick to start scrambling away in the direction they had just come from as heavy footsteps quickly approached them. Not a moment later, did the sound of shattering glass accompany the footsteps and suddenly, the danger became a lot more imminent.

"You _said_ the wolfsbane would slow it down!" Stiles shouted at her.

Annie put more of her focus on running away from the alpha than she did to try and show her irritation towards Stiles. "It _did_ , it's not as coordinated." She threw caution to the wind and looked behind her, and sure enough, the alpha wasn't running in a straight line. It was zigzagging, hitting the walls as it tried to follow them.

"And that's better, _how?"_ Stiles yelled.

This time, Annie let herself shoot him a look of pure annoyance. "It's not as calculating as before, which means we now have the strategic upper hand. We just gotta be smart now." She panted, her mind beginning to work up an idea.

Scott suddenly shoved himself to the right, pushing two doors open that led them towards a large staircase. As they ran down the stairs, she struggled to work at the vial at the end of her necklace, her hands shaking as she focused on not falling face first in the chase. Finally, she was able to unscrew it, pouring some of the contents out into the palm of her hand, she quickly screwed it back up and pushed herself to make up for the distance she lost in her moment of slight distraction.

Just as they descended from the last step into the basement, she let Scott and Stiles take the lead before turning around and throwing the dark powder in her hand up into the air, the powder landing gracefully into a perfect line between the wall and the lockers, making a barrier between the entrance of the basement and where they currently were. All she needed to do was get to the other side and do the same thing so that the alpha wouldn't be able to get to them from either side.

With how disoriented it must have been because of her earlier stunt, Annie's main goal now was just to confuse it as much as possible. Laying down lines of mountain ash created something akin to a maze, it forced the alpha to try and find alternative routes to them. She just hoped it'd eventually get annoyed and just _leave them alone_.

She ran over to the boys, fully intending to finish up her plan to seal the area from the alpha, but before she could try to get to the other side of the lockers, a loud snarling reached her ears and Scott stuck his right arm out, pushing Stiles and Annie against the metal.

Annie looked at him with irritation, wanting to see where the alpha currently was. But as he let his head fall against the lockers, relief filling his features, she figured that the beast had cleared away, at least for now.

Scott gestured to left with his chin, " _Go_." He whispered.

Stiles looked at him in surprise. "Wait- Why… why did it go the other way?" He hissed, his brows furrowed in confusion.

Annie held up a finger like she was answering a question in class, "Uh, yeah. That was me." She whispered as she dropped her hand. "I'll explain more when we're not actively _fearing for our lives_."

The boys only looked at each other for a moment before Scott shrugged and started walking past the lockers, Stiles and Annie in tow. They turned a corner, but just before they could reach the light-filled opening at the end of the hall, a growl made the three of them stop in their tracks and back up.

"Okay, we've got to do something." Stiles said, the desperation was _pitifully_ clear in his voice, but it was exactly what all three of them were feeling.

Scott looked at him with despair. "Like _what_?"

"I dunno, kill it? Hurt it?" Stiles suggested. He lifted a hand and gestured wildly to his own head. "Inflict mental anguish on it? _Something_!"

A loud bang made the trio flinch back and Scott's shoulder hit the door leading into an empty storage room. They looked into it before turning their gazes back into the direction from which all the sounds were coming from. Stiles slowly reached into his pocket, the soft jingling of his keys breaking the silence and making Scott and Annie flinch.

"Wait a minute! No-" Scott began to hiss.

Stiles interrupted, "Shh, shh, shh!"

Annie looked at the keys Stiles was gingerly holding up and the empty room, quickly realizing what he was about to do. It was _perfect_. The wolfsbane, especially if she had caught the alpha by surprise, would've badly affected its _eyes_ , especially which made it rely primarily on sound. She reached out and grabbed Scott by the arm, pulling him back to give Stiles some room.

A few more moments of silence passed where Scott was making faces at Stiles, trying to catch his attention and dissuade him from doing whatever it was he was planning on doing. But suddenly, Stiles shook the keys and quickly threw them into the room before twisting and launching himself at the two behind him.

A loud growl accompanied the alpha's large form as it rushed forwards and into the room, following the sound in an attempt to catch its prey. Stiles twisted back around and threw himself towards the door, shutting it as fast as he could.

"The desk! C'mon, the desk!" He yelled, gesturing for them to help trap the creature.

Annie and Scott immediately jumped into action, quickly rushing forwards and pushing the desk, shoving it so that it was situated vertically between the door and the large metal cabinet directly across from it, effectively trapping it.

They breathed heavily as they looked at each other and then to the door when suddenly the alpha flung itself against the door, but the desk only moved several inches before it hit the metal cabinet against the wall.

Scott's chest heaved as he looked down at the desk, towards the door, and then to Stiles. "He… He can't." He breathed, a relieved smile stretching across his lips.

Even Annie couldn't help her own smile as she shook her head, completely astonished at the turn of events. " _Shit_ , Stilinski!" She breathed. "Oh, my god!" She let out a shocked laugh. "You _did_ it."

"Alright!" Stiles breathed, looking deeply satisfied with himself. Another loud bang scared them all, making them flinch and making Stiles press himself against the door, trying to keep it closed as best as he could. He looked at the two of them. "C'mon get across!" He encouraged.

Scott went first, quickly jumping up on top of the desk, looking hesitantly at the door before moving off. Annie carefully slid herself across the desk, wasting no time to look at the door or inspect the beast inside.

But Stiles had other plans.

He leaned to his left, trying to peek through the little window before he threw away all caution to the wind and got closer to the door, making no effort to be careful.

"What are you _doing_ , you _dumbass_?" Annie snapped, watching with wide, horror-filled eyes as he climbed on top of the desk and knelt in front of the blocked door, peering in through the little window.

"I just wanna get a look at it!" He hissed back, ducking his head slightly and shifting side to side to try and find an angle at which he could look at the beast.

Scott thought that Annie would burst into tears right on the spot. As he looked between her and his _dumb_ best friend, it was clear she was beyond frustrated, all signs of her relief from their moment of victory was completely gone. She puffed up as she raised her hands and clenched them into tight, aggravated fists.

"Oh, my _god_ , let's just _go_." She snapped at him, dropping her hands. "It's this kind of shit that gets people _killed_."

Stiles rolled his eyes and shook his head, quickly gesturing to the beast through the little window. "Look, it's _trapped_ , okay? It's not gonna get out."

She looked like she wanted to hit him.

"Ah, _yes_ , I can see those words written on your epitaph." She mimicked him and rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms tightly against her chest. "The famous last words of Stiles Stilinski, who got _mauled_ 'cause he was _stupid_ and antagonized an already _pissed off_ mystical creature." She quickly bit out through clenched teeth, her voice pitching upward with panic as she neared the end of her complaint.

Once again, he just shook his head and completely ignored her, a smug grin making its way to his face as he lifted a hand and pointed mockingly through the window. "Yeah, that's right, we got you-"

Scott shook his head at his best friend, "Will you _shut_ up?" He whispered. taking Annie's side on the matter.

" _No_. I'm not _scared_ of this thing." Stiles protested stubbornly. She knew what he was trying to do. He was trying to assert dominance, to show that he wasn't afraid of not _just_ the alpha, but also all the shit he had been thrown into due to his best friend being bitten. He wasn't _just_ trying to prove something to the alpha, he was trying to prove something to _himself_. But just as he finished, the alpha slammed itself against the door, scaring Stiles off the desk.

Annie shook her head, crossing her arms and pulling them close to her chest. "Well, I'm almost _shitting_ myself, I'm so scared, so let's just _go_! _Please_." She tried pleading.

Stiles once again ignored her and simply directed his full attention to the alpha. He began talking directly to it in hushed, but insistent tones. "I'm not scared of you!"

Annie started backing away, her irritation clear. "We're gonna fucking _die_ and it's gonna be _your_ fault." She snapped, stopping in her tracks when she reached Scott's side. "In _every_ single horror film, the cocky white boy gets too confident and you know who ends up dying _first_? _The brown ones_." She hissed, letting a finger gesture between herself and Scott.

Scott's eyes widened, the analogy sending a new wave of alarm through him. He turned to look at him. " _Stiles, listen to her_."

Either he couldn't hear her panicked mutterings, or he was completely ignoring her in favor of continuing to antagonize the alpha. _"_ We're _not_ scared." He emphasized, rolling his eyes at the two behind him. " _Right_ , 'cause you're in _there_ , and we're out _here_. You're not going any-" He was promptly interrupted by a large crashing sound.

Stiles stood frozen, a look of horror on his face, wincing only when he heard something that sounded suspiciously like ' _fucking white boy_ ' muttered under Annie's breath.

The trio slowly shifted their gazes upwards, tension building as they realized the alpha had jumped up through the ceiling in the storage room, only to travel towards them. The ceiling panels above them creaked and groaned from under the weight of the beast when finally several panels fell to the ground with a loud, startling crash, prompting them to _act_.

They stumbled over each other as they turned and rushed as fast as they could out of the basement. Stiles turned to look at her, "You don't happen to have any more wolfsbane, would you?"

She shot him a dirty look, nearly losing her footing as she climbed the last stair and Scott kept the door open for them. "I _told_ you that I didn't have a lot. I used it all up!"

Scott looked at her desperately. "Don't you have _anything_ else? What was that thing you used down there? To make it go the other way?"

She shook her head and pushed herself to go faster, "Mountain ash. It's- it's mostly used defensively." She said breathlessly. Mountain ash was truly one of her favourite things out there. But she was just too worried to lay down a line of ash where they had no means of escape on one side and the alpha patiently waiting on the other. "The problem is if I accidentally trap us here with it. The best thing to do is just find a way to escape."

They slowed down slightly but kept up a steady pace as they continued making their way away from the alpha. Suddenly, Scott started looking around wildly, grabbing Stiles' arm to stop him right in his tracks. "Wait! Do you hear that?" He asked, panic beginning to once again make itself known in his voice.

"Hear what?" Stiles asked, his muscles tensing as he prepared himself for Scott to say that the alpha was right behind him, or that he could hear someone else being _mauled_.

But Scott's next words made everyone feel _very_ confused. "It sounds like a _phone_ ringing."

" _What_?" Stiles asked, slumping slightly in relief that it wasn't anything that his own imagination had come up with.

Scott looked down at his feet for a moment before looking up at Annie directly in a panic. "I know that ring, it's _Allison's_ phone."

Frowning, she reached into her back pocket and slipped out her phone, freezing as she saw the long list of text notifications from both Allison and Lydia. " _Shit…_ No, no, no… _shit_!"

"What?" Scott asked immediately, leaning in to read the texts on her phone from over her shoulder.

She kept scrolling through the texts, reading rapidly, "They're all here." She announced with horror, looking at the boys with wide eyes.

Stiles' face screwed up in confusion. " _Who's_ all here?"

"Allison, Lydia, and Jackson." She whispered.

She didn't like the way it felt to speak their names into the darkness. Like, if she said their names, she would be sealing their fate. That something terrible would _undoubtedly_ happen to them.

Like she was _condemning_ them.

* * *

Hello everyone! It's been a minute (she said, fully aware that it's been like, a month, s), but hey! This baby's finally up!

I just wanted to take the moment to thank each and every one of you for reading and supporting this story. I've gotten some incredibly kind messages and words of encouragement and I cannot tell you how uplifting it is to read what you have to say!

I also wanna take a special moment to thank VortexFM for being a badass and reading through the roughest of the rough drafts that I've thrown at her. A lot of this wouldn't be as smooth-sailing without her so, thank you so much!

I also want to thank, bridgetlynn, staywoc, January Lily, huntsthemoon, Princessdarkness12, Cerulean Musings, everyatom, kisaageckos, Galanerd, nearlyheadlesspotter, KiyUzumaki, monkeybaby, and amrawo for leaving such wonderful reviews and truly being my motivation to continue writing and continue Annie's story. You're all wonderful and I really cannot thank you enough! ALSO I can't forget all the lovely and wonderful people who follow me on tumblr ( musiciatee come visit me!) and always interact with my stuff there! you're all so brilliant and i truly am so blessed to have been accepted into such a loving and caring community!

That said, if you enjoyed this story/this chapter, feel free to leave a quick review! Whether it be a huge essay or just one thing you liked, or literally just a series of random key smashes from your cat, I want to see it all! I'd love to hear your thoughts!


	9. Palinoia

It seemed like the universe just _wanted_ all of Annie's nightmares to come true.

Facing off with another alpha? Check.

Seeing a couple of people get fucking _mauled_? _Check_.

Gathering all the people she had grown to care about in one place while facing off with said other alpha? _Checkity fucking check_.

"Why are they even _here_?"

Annie shook her head as she swallowed hard, her brows furrowed. "I dunno, but Lydia's been texting me. Allison too… I just had my phone on silent." She explained, looking down at the phone with laser-focused eyes, as though the messages on there were a lifeline.

If the trio were still near the entrance they could probably get away before the alpha caught a whiff of them. Then again, luck didn't seem to be in their favor and Annie wasn't much of an optimist.

"What'd they say?" Scott asked frantically.

Annie licked her lips as her eyes scanned the texts. "Allison texted me about an hour ago saying ' _Scott totally ditched me…'_ " She bit her lip as she spared a glance to a nervous looking McCall. She shook her head once more, deciding to spare him of the increasingly frustrated texts his girlfriend had sent her.

Instead, she selected Lydia's texts grimacing as she read the scathing defense for Allison against the werewolf. Scott shifted slightly as he tried to read over her shoulder.

"There's some bullshit from Lydia… more bullshit… _yikes_ , that's _horse_ shit right there." She muttered, reading something about a slippery slope Scott was headed down that resulted in Allison filing a domestic abuse complaint against him.

She exited out of the messages before he could read through them, and quickly dialed Allison's number. Lifting the phone to her ear, she sighed in relief as Allison picked up on the second ring, clear confusion in her voice. " _Annie_? Why haven't you been texting any of us back? Where _are_ you?"

Annie swallowed hard, grimacing at how dry her throat was. "Ally, where are _you_ , are you still at the school?" She asked softly.

"Yeah, we ju- wait, why are you whispering? Are you okay?" Came the immediate reply.

Annie licked her bottom lip before nodding, despite the fact that Allison wouldn't be able to see it. "Yeah, I'm fi- _Scott_!" She exclaimed as Scott jumped in front of her, grabbing the phone right out of her hand and lifting it to his own ear, panic in his wide eyes.

" _Allison_ , where are you?" He asked.

Complete disapproval painted Annie's features. Crossing her arms, she watched Scott pace. "Where are you _right_ now?" He asked frantically.

Not a moment later, he shook his head in frustration and spoke up again. "Where? Where are you _exactly_?"

"Get to the lobby. Go _now_." He ordered before hanging up and turning back to Stiles and Annie. She took stepped up to him and wrestled the phone out of his hand with a furious glare.

"Nice, you couldn't have been a little more _composed_?" She asked.

Stiles stepped forward in defense of his friend. "Uh, I dunno if you've forgotten everything that's happened over the past hour, but I think we've all got an excuse for not being _composed_."

" _Yeah,_ but none of _them_ know what's going on. Now you've got Ally freaked out and it's not gonna help _anyone_." She said, exasperated.

She was met with silence. Scott picked up the pace and sped ahead of her and Stiles. The trio made their way upstairs, all completely alert for the alpha in case it made another appearance. It didn't take long for them to burst through the doors and into the lobby, where they were met with Allison jogging lightly towards them.

Scott ran to her, his eyes wide with dread as he hissed "Why did you come? What are you _doing_ here?"

Allison looked at him, confused, "Because you _asked_ me to." She answered, her brows furrowing at his harsh tone.

"I _asked_ you to?" He repeated, completely bewildered.

Allison looked down at her phone with uncertainty as she pulled up her texts. "Why do I get the feeling that you didn't send this message?" She asked, lifting up the phone for Scott to see.

"Because I _didn't_." He insisted.

Stiles let out a huff of frustration before interjecting into the conversation. "Look, did you drive here?" He asked sharply.

She took a step back at his tone and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Jackson did. What's going _on_? Who sent this text?"

Allison finally turned her gaze to Annie, who was standing behind the two boys, stony-faced but with hands shaking hands and with eyes darting to and fro, like she was looking for something. Allison opened her mouth to call her out and assert her question once more when she was interrupted by her phone ringing.

Reading the caller ID, she picked up immediately. "Where _are_ you?" She demanded.

Just as she asked the question, the door to their left burst open, causing the quartet jump in fright, but it was revealed to only be Lydia storming through with Jackson in tow.

" _Finally_. Can we _go_ now?" Lydia half-asked, half-complained to all of them, frowning at how disheveled Scott, Stiles and, surprisingly, _Annie,_ were.

Lydia grew immediately suspicious at seeing her friend in such company, quickly recognizing that Annie must have been with those two _losers_ all night. Which explained why she hadn't answered Lydia's, admittedly, aggressive knocking at her house earlier.

Lydia scanned Annie up and down, displeased with what she saw. She fired off,

"Where are your _shoes_ , Annie? What are you even _doing_ here? Why weren't you at home?"

 _Shit_.

Annie blinked at the sudden onslaught of questions, mentally answering them in order before she said them out loud. In the locker room, where presumably, the janitor's corpse still was. Shitting herself. And, _God_ she wished she was.

Both Allison and Jackson turned to her, the former a lot more curious than the other. Jackson eyed her from head to toe distrustfully, his gaze shifting between her, Scott, and Stiles, before settling back on her. Annie repressed the urge to clear her parched throat under Jackson's laser-like scrutiny.

"Uh-" She began to speak, bracing herself for the bullshit she was about to spin out. a large, heavy thud, accompanied by slow creaking above them, cut her off. On one hand, it saved Annie from explaining her presence at the school and presenting her with time to craft an excuse that wasn't _clearly_ pulled out of her ass.

 _But_ it came with the caveat of the alpha's reappearance.

"Run!" Scott shouted.

A moment later, the ceiling above them collapsed, narrowly missing the group as they sprinted away from the creature chasing them.

Annie felt like she was short-circuiting, there was only so much she could do to keep the group's suspicion at a manageable level, and she wasn't quite sure she could straight up _lie_ her way out of _this_. Especially if any of them actually _saw_ the alpha.

Assuming they even _lived_ long enough to suspect what it was that was threatening them in that very moment. Annie forced herself to slow down, to intentionally tail everyone else and put herself closest to the alpha. For the second time that night, she struggled with the vial at her neck. Annie whipped it off and held it tight in her hand. A loud thud behind her pushed her to run faster as the alpha gained ground.

It was then, nearly feeling the alpha's very _breath_ on the nape of her neck, its claws _narrowly_ missing her legs, that Annie had a split second realization.

This alpha could have taken them down by now.

Only several months ago, Annie was in the exact same situation, with an alpha werewolf running at her from behind.

Of course, in _that_ incident, the beast caught up to her easily and only had to stretch a claw out to her calf to incapacitate her. The mere _thought_ of it sent a pain down her leg.

Why wasn't _this_ alpha doing the same? It could have _easily_ massacred the entire group already.

Annie's morbidly panicked thoughts were pushed to the back of her mind as Allison grabbed her left arm and pulled her into the cafeteria, making her hiss out in pain. But Allison, in her panic, took no notice. Scott made quick work of the fire doors, shutting them and securing the bolts before looking around to see what he could use to barricade the beast out.

Spotting something, he practically threw himself to his left where a small fridge was. "Help me get this in front of the door!"

Jackson rushed over and began to help him push the appliance over.

"Scott, wait, not here!" Stiles' voice rang out.

Annie whipped her head towards him with furrowed brows, her hand rubbing absentmindedly at her left shoulder before her attention was dragged to Allison and Lydia.

"What _was_ that? Scott? What was _that_?"

"What came out of the ceiling?"

Scott ignored the two of them, "Will you just _help_ me?" He shot back with agitation. "The chairs, stack the chairs!" He ordered. Lydia and Allison rushed forwards, joining Scott and Jackson in the attempt to block the doorway.

"Guys!" Stiles tried once more to grab their attention. "Can we just wait a second?" He stared in frustration. No one was paying him any heed. "You guys, listen to me, w- can we wait a second? Guys? Stiles talki-"

Annie rolled her eyes and whipped around, exasperated. " _What_ , Stiles?" She asked impatiently.

At hearing Annie's sharp tone, everyone stopped what they were doing, freezing in the middle of their actions to turn to her and Stiles.

Stiles looked at the rest of the group, clearly aggravated that none of them had listened to him until now. "Okay, nice work, _really_ beautiful job everyone." He drawled. " _Now_ , what should we do about the twenty-foot wall of _windows_?" He swept his arms upwards, rivaling the likes of Vanna White.

"Oh, _shit_." Annie whispered, remembering how the alpha crashed through the windows of another hallway like it was absolutely nothing earlier that night.

Stiles nodded, lifting a finger and pointing at her. " _Oh, shit_ , is the correct _and_ only response."

The group turned to each other, slumping helplessly.

Allison's voice broke the anxiety-ridden silence. "Can somebody _please_ explain to me what's going on? Because I am _freaking_ out here, and I'd like to know why." She spoke quickly and breathlessly, shifting her gaze between everyone in the group, hoping someone had the answers she was looking for.

Annie kept her gaze down, shuffling until she stood behind the only three people who were not in the know. Her mind ran at a hundred miles per hour as she tried to come up with a viable excuse that would stick for the time being. It didn't need to be detailed or intricate, she could easily write her lack of specifics off simply as her anxiety making her forget certain facts. _But_ it needed to be convincing enough that three stubborn people like Jackson, Lydia, and Allison would find it satisfactory until they got out safely and she had an opportunity to think clearly.

Allison turned to her boyfriend, grabbing his hand and pulling on it slightly. "Scott?" She prompted.

His only response was pure frustration. He looked at everyone helplessly, ripping his hand away from Allison and walking away from the group, breathing heavily.

They all watched as he let himself lean over a stack of chairs, but he remained silent and Annie could tell he was trying to come up with something to say. She opened her mouth to speak, not trusting Scott to come up with a plausible excuse, but Stiles beat her to it, coming straight out with the truth.

"Somebody killed the janitor."

Annie shut her mouth and aimed her furious gaze to him. Was _tactful_ not in either of their vocabularies?

" _What_?" Lydia asked breathlessly, pressing herself close to Jackson, who looked at Stiles in absolute shock.

Stiles walked towards the group, his hands in his pockets as he looked at them all in defeat, "Yeah, the janitor's dead." He confirmed, ignoring Annie's caustic glare.

"What's he talking about?" Allison let out a humorless laugh, not wanting to believe _this_ was the situation they found themselves in. "Is this a _joke_?" she asked, turning to Scott, whose back was still facing them.

"What? Who killed him?" Jackson added.

Lydia shook her head, her eyes wide in shock and panic, "No, no, no. This was supposed to be over, the mountain lio-"

Jackson turned, harshly interrupting her. "Don't you _get_ it? There _wasn't_ a mountain lion."

" _Who was it_?" Allison yelled, finally reaching her breaking point. "What does he _want_? What's happening? _Scott_!" She snapped his name, angry at the fact that he refused to tell them anything.

The barrage of questions finally pulled Scott away from his thoughts, forcing him to face the issue at hand.

"I-I dunno!". Scott stared down at his feet, unable to look them straight in the eyes. "I-I just- if we go out there, he's gonna kill us." He said, voice filled with despair.

" _Us_? He's going to kill _us_?" Lydia asked.

Annie needed to step in and she needed to do it _now_. The situation was getting out of hand. She couldn't believe the role of _calm_ and _collected_ strategist fell to _her_ , the one who felt like she was about to throw up and pass out at the same time. _But,_ considering dumb and dumber were _keen_ on freaking out the others, who had _no idea_ what was going on, she understood that it _had_ to be her.

"Who?" Allison asked, to Annie this time, finally acknowledging the otherwise quiet presence in the room. " _Who_ is it?"

 _That_ was the question that would trip them all up.

Stiles' mouth opened and closed several times before he turned to his best friend, who still refused to look at the rest of them. Once again, Annie opened her mouth to answer, to say something simple like ' _it was too dark to see any distinguishing features'_ or a simple ' _I dunno, we were more preoccupied with the fact that there was a body and someone chasing after us_ '.

But of course, things couldn't be _simple_.

Scott beat her to it, exhaling sharply before giving his answer.

"It's Derek. It's Derek Hale."

She snapped her gaze up directly to Scott, her eyes wide as she shook her head subtly. She knew what he was trying to do and it was a _terrible_ idea.

If Derek really _was_ dead, there was no _real_ issue with using him as a scapegoat. The issue really came in if, by the grace of whatever higher power was out there, Derek _lived_. Not only would he _actually_ be a wanted man, it would also draw too much attention to the mystery surrounding the guy.

A mystery that didn't need to be solved.

 _Not to mention_ , Derek already established himself as a _friend_ of Scott's, regardless of whether Scott consented to that or not. the kid would be throwing _himself_ under the bus if he stuck to the claim that Derek was Beacon's murderer.

His answer brought about a whole new wave of reactions from the three new additions to the group.

" _Derek_ killed the janitor?" Jackson asked dubiously

Allison shook her head in disbelief, "Are you _sure_?"

"I think he's confused." Annie blurted out. Five pairs of eyes were on her and she swallowed hard, continuing on quickly before Scott or Stiles could interrupt.

She shook her head, raising a hand to rub her forehead. "I mean, look, we're _all_ freaked out. Like, _yeah_ , Derek _was_ here but I _think_ he was attacked along with the janitor. I don't _know._ " She emphasized her uncertainty.

There was an art to all of this. You needed to stay as vague as possible so that, regardless of how the situation evolved, you'd be able to evolve along with it.

"I _saw_ him." He insisted, confusion and anger clear in his eyes.

"Right before we all ran away." She pushed, enunciating her words with emphasis as she shook her head. _Shit_ , he really couldn't take a hint, could he? "Look, the fact of the matter is, we _don't know_ who's attacking us, or who's in here with us. Our job isn't to _investigate_." She looked at Scott and Stiles pointedly.

"No! _Derek_ killed him!" Scott insisted.

Annie raised her hands in a placating gesture, "Scott, you sound hysterical, it's okay. Take a breath." She soothed. Her expression remained one of calm concern despite the glare Scott shot in her direction. It was a terribly snake-like thing to do, to discredit Scott like this.

 _It's purely strategic_ , she told herself.

The trio who joined them didn't have much of a reason to be suspicious of Annie, while they were already weirded out by Scott's behavior lately.

She was just playing to the situation.

"What we _need_ to focus on is getting out _alive_." She looked at each person meaningfully. "The police can do their investigations _after_ we're out of here _safe_." Annie was at the receiving end of a myriad of expressions. Jackson's irritation, Lydia's uncertainty, and Allison's panic were intermingled with Scott and Stiles' suspicion and betrayal.

A thick, suffocating silence settled over them. There was pure suspicion in the gazes of the unsuspecting trio, who exchanged glances with Scott, Stiles, and Annie. Annie's expression was as unreadable as she could make it. They could argue and bicker about specifics later. _Now_ , all that stood between them and an early demise was a fridge, a couple of chairs, and as Stiles so kindly pointed out, a twenty-foot wall of windows.

Jackson chose to break the silence. "Call the cops." He ordered.

"No" Came Stiles' immediate reply.

Jackson shook Lydia off of him. He faced Stiles directly, squaring his shoulders. "Wh-What do you mean ' _no_ '?" He asked with gritted teeth, trying to stand at his full height and intimidate Stilinski.

Stiles became quickly fed up, "I mean no." He repeated, looking Jackson right in the eyes. "Do you wanna hear it in Spanish? _No_. Look, Derek-"

Annie shook her head and interrupted him. "We don't _know_ if it's him." She snapped. She didn't want to have to do any kind of damage control right now. They didn't have time for this, all she wanted to do was find a way out.

He rolled his eyes at her interjection, " _Fine_ -" He conceded. " _Unknown_ , insane, serial killer has killed tonight, okay? And if it's the same guy responsible for all the other shit that's been happening in town, then we have absolutely no idea what they're armed with."

"Your _dad_ is armed with an entire _sheriff's department_." Jackson argued, raising a hand and aggressing gesturing to him before repeating his order. "Call him."

Lydia shook her head and reached into her bag, taking out her cell phone. She walked in front of Jackson and Allison to the middle of the room. " _I'm_ calling."

Stiles moved to stop her. "No, Lydia, will you just hold on a second?" He asked, but before he could take another step, Jackson grabbed Stiles and pushed him back.

Annie placed a hand on Jackson's shoulder, squeezing it tightly as she pulled him back. "Hey, back off, Jackson." She warned. It would do none of them any good if they devolved into physically fighting one another. Scott rushed over at the same time with an outstretched hand and a glare for Jackson. She dropped her hand from Jackson's shoulder and instead, lifted it to stop Scott from getting any closer.

The three boys settled on glaring coolly at each other before turning to look at Lydia. It took only a moment before the 911 operator picked up and Lydia launched into her plea for help.

Allison walked towards Lydia as she began speaking rapidly. "Yes, we're at Beacon Hills High School. We're trapped, and we need you to-" She suddenly stopped talking and they all looked at her expectantly. Annie furrowed her brows and took a step towards Lydia and Allison. "But-" Lydia's tense voice rang out. She abruptly dropped the hand that was holding her phone, whipping around to look at them with wide, helpless eyes. "She hung up on me." She said, shock coloring her tone.

"The _police_ hung up on you?" Allison asked skeptically.

Lydia shot her a cold look, offended at Allison's tone. "She said they got a tip _warning_ them that there are gonna be prank calls about a break-in to the high school. She said if I called again that they're going to trace it and have me _arrested_."

"Okay, then _call_ again." Allison spoke, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Stiles shook his head and cut in. "No, they won't trace a cell. Then they'll send a car to your house before they send anyone here." He explained solemnly.

Allison's hands flew up to frame her face as she looked down at her feet, her expression becoming one of confusion and panic as she tried to understand the events that were transpiring. "What the- what- _what is this_? What is _happening_? Why _us_?"

Another moment of tense silence befell the room. everyone's eyes naturally drifted towards Scott, who was looking more and more stressed with every moment that passed.

"Why's everyone looking at _me_?" He asked in defense.

Jackson's hand rose to gesture vaguely at him. "Well, _you're_ the one who sounds _so_ confident that it's _Derek_. Why? What do _you_ know that we don't?"

Lydia nodded along, posing a question of her own. "Is he the one who sent her the text?"

"No!" Scott exclaimed, but he was quick to backtrack. "I mean, I _dunno_." He added with uncertainty.

 _This_ was exactly what Annie wanted to prevent. She raised her brows, simply waiting for his answers. She was all for helping him, she really was, but when his idiocy and impulsiveness got him _this_ far, there was only so much _she_ could do on her own to control that damage.

"Is he the one who called the _police_?" Allison asked, joining in on the interrogation.

Feeling like he was being cornered with no way out, Scott finally lost his temper. "I don't know!" He shouted at his girlfriend in frustration. Allison

Seeing that things were escalating, Annie promptly cut in.

Once again, she raised her hands placatingly. "Look. Like I said…" She started off calmly, much calmer than she actually felt. "Emotions are running high, we're all anxious. _We're all unsure_." She emphasized. "We need to _back off_ each other and figure out a way to get out of this alive and safe, okay? _Then_ we can talk about what's happening." She paused for a moment and made sure to look at everyone.

"Good? Got it?" She asked. She received silent nods in response and she could only nod back.

Stiles patted Scott on the shoulder and pushed him away from the group. Taking it as a cue to break, Allison turned her back to them and Lydia did the same as she went over to her friend to provide some support. Jackson stayed by the girls, albeit, he was staring at the two other guys suspiciously. Annie bit her lip, hesitantly shuffling over to where Scott and Stiles were speaking to each other in hushed tones.

"-get out alive?" She caught the tail end of Stiles' question before he stopped himself from saying any more with her appearance.

The two teens looked at her coolly and she raised an eyebrow. "Can I _help_ you two? Because I truly don't know how to do any more for you guys than I already have. You literally could _not_ have handled that any worse than you did." She snapped, making sure not to raise her voice and alert the others.

Scott opened his mouth and she shook her head, holding a hand up to silence him. "I'm not doing this right now." She said. Stiles narrowed his eyes at her and gestured at her, clearly saying ' _You started it_ ' without saying anything at all.

Scott sighed heavily, returning to the issue at hand. "The thing _is_ , we _are_ alive."

Annie's interest in their conversation piqued significantly at hearing Scott make the same observation she had earlier. "He's got a good point." She said softly, a frown pulling at the corners of her lips. Dropping her voice even further, she whispered quietly. "That thing could have killed us the minute it dropped from the ceiling. This isn't just _hunting_ , it feels like it's hunting for _sport_."

Stiles swallowed hard, "Okay, so… it just wants to eat us all at the same time? Make it a whole lot more traumatic for whoever's _not_ the first one?"

" _No_!" Scott exclaimed. "Derek said it wants _revenge_."

"Against _who_?"

"Allison's family?"

"Maybe that's what the text was about?"

Scott looked at him in confusion before Stiles sighed exasperatedly. " _Someone_ had to send it!"

"Okay, assheads!" Jackson's aggressive yelling made everyone jump in alarm. They turned around to see Jackson furiously gesturing towards Stiles. "New plan. Stiles calls his _useless_ dad and tells him to send someone with a gun and decent aim. Are we good with that?" He asked, looking around, challenging someone to disagree with the plan.

Stiles rolled his eyes until he noticed everyone's hopeful looks directed right at him. He turned to his best friend who tilted his head, his expression displaying the pure desperation he was feeling.

With a loud voice, Scott agreed with Jackson. "He's _right_. Tell him the truth if you have to, j-just, _call_ him." The desperation was obvious in his voice.

It was Stiles' turn to look betrayed. He set his jaw and dropped his voice. "I'm not watching my dad get eaten alive." He bit out under his breath before looking at the rest of the group, shaking his head, Stiles took a step away from them.

Annie sympathized with Stiles at that moment. It was a difficult circumstance to be placed in. Half their group had _no_ idea what was happening and were all under the impression that this situation could easily be dealt with by a police force, while the other half knew that the real source of the trouble was a bloodthirsty mythical creature.

Two rather _stark_ realities.

She immediately understood his hesitation to bring his dad into this mess. The situation escalated when, completely unprompted, Jackson decided to take things into his own hands.

He stormed forward, stretching out a hand with an intention to manhandle the guy. "Alright, give me the phone." He demanded.

Just as soon as Jackson grabbed onto Stiles' shoulder, the latter whipped around and struck his fist into Jackson's face.

"Jackson!" Allison exclaimed. She rushed over to where Jackson was kneeling on the ground, clutching his nose. "Are you okay?" She asked.

Annie turned back to Stiles, surprised. Stiles averted his eyes, training them carefully on Allison who looked at him with absolute disbelief. He clenched his jaw, shoving his hand into his pocket and taking out his phone. He quickly dialed a number and brought it up to his ear, his toe tapping with anxiety as he waited for his dad to pick up the call.

"Dad, hey, it's me…" He said before pausing and hanging his head. " _And_ it's your voicemail. Look, I need you to call me back… _now_. Like, right now."

A loud bang rattled through the room. everyone jumped and turned to the doors. The chairs stacked on the fridge still shook from whatever it was that caused the bang. Another loud bang had everyone backing away from the doors.

They all clumped together, gazing at the doors in horror. "We're at the school, okay? We're at the school." Stiles finished up the message and hung up, stuffing the phone back into his pocket as he continued backing away with the others.

Annie's hearing was _muffled_. She could only focus on her heart beating, blood rushing in her ears, the sound intermingling with the rhythmic beating against the doors. As the banging continued, becoming more and more furious, knocking the stacks of chairs down off the fridge, Stiles spoke urgently.

"The kitchen. The door out of the kitchen leads into the stairwell." He said quickly, his eyes frozen on the failing barricade.

Behind him, Scott shook his head. "Which only goes up from here."

Annie frowned and started taking large steps backward. "Up is probably better than _here_ , let's go!" She grabbed the backs of Allison and Scott's jackets and pulled them back with her. With half their group moving, the others were prompted to scramble after them. Annie threw the door open and held it for the others, gesturing for them to keep moving as she kept her eyes on the doors. Ruby red eyes popped up through the window and stared directly at her.

Her heart stopped.

The alpha let out a ferocious growl and threw itself against the door, forcing it open and prompting Annie to _move_.

Slamming the door closed behind her, she sprinted up the stairs, taking them two at a time to catch up to the others. They had only _just_ burst through the doors to the top floor of the school. She made it in time to see Lydia wrench the door open to an unlocked classroom and usher everyone in. Scott shut the door just as Annie slid into the room and quickly reached for a stool, shoving the back of it under the handle of the door before backing away slowly.

Labored breathing filled the air until heavy, thudding footsteps echoed out in the hall on the other side of the door. Annie's fingertips brushed against the cool metal chain around her neck. There was _no_ way that door alone would protect them and there was no way it _didn't_ know they were in there, not if her _own_ heartbeat was anything to go off of. The smell of anxiety and adrenaline was _sure_ to be filling the air.

She nudged Scott out of the way, situating herself to the left of the window so that the alpha wouldn't simply _see_ her silhouette, but so that she'd be able to wrench her necklace off and lay down a line of mountain ash if it came down to it. Subtlety be damned, if it _really_ came down to revealing the supernatural to three humans or _dying_ , she was going to throw caution to the fucking wind.

After several tense moments that felt like _forever_ , the alpha simply walked past the room, its slow, deliberate footsteps fading away. They all slumped in temporary relief.

"Jackson, how many people can fit in your car?" Scott whispered urgently.

"Five, probably six if someone sits on someone's lap. Annie and Lydia are small enough that we can squeeze them into the passenger seat."

" _Six_?" Allison hissed back incredulously. " _I_ barely fit in the back."

Stiles rolled his eyes, "It doesn't _matter_. There's no getting out without drawing attention."

"Well, what about this?" Scott asked, excitement in his tone as he turned and ran towards a door on the other side of the room. They all followed him hesitantly. "It goes up to the roof. We can go down the fire escape to the parking lot in, like, seconds."

"That's a deadbolt." Stiles shook his head, completely dashing Scott's optimistic plan.

That is, until he came up with another idea. "The janitor has a key." He said, dropping his voice.

Annie walked up to Stiles, crossing her arms and keeping her head low, listening. The two boys didn't pay her any attention and kept murmuring back and forth.

Stiles looked at him with wide eyes, his lips turned down into a frown."You mean his _body_ has it." He muttered back.

Scott nodded, indicating that he fully realized what he needed to do. Leaning in closer to Stiles, he explained his plan a little more. "I can get it. I can find him by _scent_ , by blood."

Stiles didn't waste any time in showing his disapproval of the plan. "Well, _gee_ , that sounds like an incredibly _terrible_ idea."

Annie finally lifted her head and nodded in agreement. Scott was the only one who had a chance of going out there and surviving. Especially since it didn't seem like the alpha wanted to kill _him_. But that didn't mean he could go out there and not face any problems. As optimistic as he was in his own abilities, optimism wouldn't help him _survive_.

"What else you got?" Stiles asked.

Scott refused to meet their eyes. Instead, he stared at a spot on Stiles' shirt f before looking up and over Annie's head, determination clear in his gaze. "I'm getting the key." He announced, attracting the attention of the other three in the room.

Scott walked past her and Stiles, stopping in front of a worried Allison. "Are you _serious_?" She whispered with uncertainty.

The way Scott talked about… _whoever_ it was out there made it sound like if they stepped out of the room, they would be _slaughtered_ and now he just wanted to walk out there?

He let his hand rest on Allison's elbow, "Well, it's the best plan." He argued.

Annie and Stiles exchanged a glance before they walked over to the rest of the group, listening to Scott continue to make a case for his _terrible_ plan. "Someone has to get the key if we wanna get out of here."

Allison wrenched her arm out of Scott's grasp and shook her head, giving him a furious glare. "You can't go out there unarmed." She snapped back, careful to keep her voice quiet but made sure her feelings about the plan were known.

Scott scrambled about, picking up the thin pointing stick lying on the sill of the chalkboard. They all looked at him in disbelief, unsure of if he was being serious or not.

"Well, it's better than _nothing_!" He defended.

"The _fuck_ are you gonna do with that, Genius?" Annie snapped. " _Poke_ him to death? There has to be something we can actually _arm_ you with."

Lydia broke the tension as she stepped forward. "There is." She nodded to the cabinet behind Allison with a shaky laugh.

"What are we gonna _do_ throw _acid_ on him?" Stiles asked skeptically, narrowing his eyes at Lydia.

Lydia rolled her eyes, like he had just said the stupidest thing she had ever heard. " _No_. Like a firebomb, in there is everything you need to make a self-igniting Molotov Cocktail."

Stiles stared at her incomprehensibly before speaking slowly. "Self-igniting…"

"Molotov cocktail." Lydia enunciated, looking as though she were about to strangle the next person who wasted her time.

Annie shifted her gaze between Lydia and the cabinet with doubt. "How _well_ would that work, though?" She asked with a frown. "Nothing is _actually_ self-igniting. We'll need an external source. Or at least _something_ to get the reaction going."

Lydia pursed her lips, her hand rising as she tapped her index finger against her chin. "In _theory_ , the mixture will ignite when it makes contact with air."

She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, _in theory_ , do we wanna send him out with something that'll work in _theory_?"

"Do you have a better idea, Annie?" She snapped.

Annie pressed her lips together, walking forward and peering into the cabinet, trying to get a good view of what it was they had to work with. "Well, your idea is _good_ , we just need to change the execution."

"What are _you_ thinking?" Lydia asked, raising a dubious brow.

Annie hesitated., her hand rising to rub her forehead as she looked away from the cabinet and towards Lydia. "If there are white phosphorus and benzene we could make a phosphorus grenade? We'd need rubber but I think latex should be fine."

The strawberry blonde raised a perfectly sculpted brow, "Do we wanna send him out with something that _should_ be fine?" She asked, throwing her words back into her face.

She shot an irritated look to Lydia, but she made the exact same point Annie had only made moments ago, she couldn't be faulted for that. " _Fine…_ " She conceded with a frown. "If- Well, what were you going to make your thing out of?"

Lydia stepped up beside Annie and looked into the glass cabinet, ticking off a mental checklist d. "Sulfuric acid, potassium chlorate… ugh, we'd need gasoline." She said, facing her friend.

Annie shook her head. "We're not going to find gasoline here." She muttered before glancing at the glass. "Wait, there's still white phosphorus. That'd work, right?"

The two looked at each other in thought,

"White phosphorus is certainly _reactive_ enough." Lydia continued.

Annie nodded slowly. "Scott, you'd just have to be _very_ careful not to let the contents move all that much unless you're throwing it at the guy." She said, looking at the young werewolf meaningfully.

The rest of the group stared at them with wide eyes and gaping mouths, unsure of what it was they had just witnessed. Lydia rolled her eyes, "I know this may come as a surprise, but I can _read_." She snarked, stating the fact as though it was the most groundbreaking news of the week.

"Well, good job, but we don't have a key for that either." Stiles lifted a hand and motioned towards the locked cabinet.

Jackson set his jaw and huffed in frustration. He rolled his eyes and shoved the two girls away from the cabinet, striking the glass with his leather jacket-clad elbow and completely shattering the glass.

Lydia immediately got to work, gathering the materials she needed. Annie trailed behind, grabbing containers she couldn't carry on her own. Setting them on a lab bench, Annie let Lydia take the lead. "My hands are shaking too much, you've got this under control." She told her, receiving a tight, but thankful, smile in return.

Annie's jaw clenched as she kept an eye on the group of teens, breaking away from watching Lydia work as she lifted off the long chain from around her neck and clutched the small vial she already used that night. She carefully unscrewed the top and tipped it over as she began walking along the perimeter of the room, slowly and deliberately, as though she were surveying the lab.

Despite all his nerves directed at the situation at hand, Stiles' attention was drawn away from Lydia and he watched Annie with fascination. Breaking away from the group, he walked over to her, slowly following her as she laid down a thin line of some kind of black substance. "What are you _doing_?" He asked quietly.

"Protecting us for as long as I can, which is more than any of you can say." She replied tightly.

"Looks like you're just making a mess." He couldn't help but comment.

Annie rolled her eyes as she corked the vial and placed the chain back around her neck. He marveled for a moment at how such a small vial had contained so much of… _whatever_ it was she spilled across the floor.

"This is the mountain ash I mentioned earlier." She explained quietly, seeing him eye up the vial. She held it up for a moment, then slipped it under her shirt. "It keeps out werewolves. Acts as a barrier to prevent most supernatural creatures from crossing it, actually." She shrugged casually as his eyes widened in fascination.

"So, Scott, stay away from the edges of the room." She muttered under her breath, knowing he'd hear her perfectly well, even with the distance between them.

The two of them drifted back to the rest of the group, and while Annie watched Lydia finish up her concoction, she intentionally ignored the way Stiles openly stared at her, like he was trying to figure something out. As Lydia capped the glass flask with a cork, giving it a final swirl, Annie gave Stiles a challenging stare. He only pursed his lips and shifted his gaze away from her. She narrowed her eyes at him, before looking to Lydia, who carefully handed Scott the flask.

"No." Allison's thick voice broke the solemn silence the minute Scott's hand grasped his makeshift weapon. " _No_. This is insane, you can't _do_ this. You _cannot_ go out there." She protested, tears welling up in her eyes.

"We can't just sit here waiting for Stiles' dad to check his messages." Scott argued back in hushed tones.

"You could _die_. Don't you _get_ that?" She asked desperately, not understanding why he was so willingly giving himself up like this. "He's already _killed_ tonight"

"And we're next." He said seriously. He looked her, his eyes silently apologizing before beginning to move towards the door. "Somebody has to _do_ something."

Allison rushed after him, "Scott, just _stop_." She hissed. The rest of the group kept their heads down, trying to give the two a vague semblance of privacy. "Do you remember- do you remember when you told me you knew whether or not I was lying? That I had a tell?"

Annie lifted her head, catching the moment where Scott nodded.

"So do you." Allison whispered, tears finally falling down her cheeks. "You're a horrible liar. And you've been lying _all_ night. Just please- please don't go. Please don't leave us. Please." She pleaded in a final, anguished attempt to get him to change his mind.

Annie licked her lips and looked down at her hands. As shitty as this situation was, it was probably McCall's absolute nightmare, especially with Allison admitting her trust in him was quickly diminishing. He looked down, conflicted, before turning back to the rest of the group.

"Lock it behind me." He said quietly, moving once more towards the door.

Allison captured his lips in a deep kiss before he could make it any further, giving Annie time to walk behind them and towards the door. She placed her hand on the handle of the door, her foot extending subtly to break the protective ash line.

The couple pulled away and simply gazed at one another. Scott squeezed her elbow and offered a smile that was supposed to inspire confidence but came out as a half-grimace. He let go of her elbow and strode forward, determined as he walked out of the room and shut the door behind him.

As soon as Scott closed the door, Annie locked it again, moving the chair back under the handle, and using her toe to nudge the ash back into place to seal the barrier once more.

The group of teens stared at the door before Annie broke the stillness. Shaking her head, she turned and walked to the windows, dragging a stool from a lab bench over to them and perching herself on the chair, letting her elbow lean against the sill.

It was quiet before she sensed movement behind her. Closing her eyes and steeling herself to be irritated, she didn't bother turning her head to face Stiles. "So…" He started out, drawing out the vowel, sticking his hands into his pockets. "... what _are_ you?" He asked curiously, dropping his voice.

Her eyes snapped open and she turned her head, shooting him a caustic look that caused him to step back. "The last time a white boy asked me that, I keyed his car." She bit out in a half-warning, then looked back out the window.

Stiles sighed at her evasion, " _C'mon_ , Annie, you _know_ what I mean. I think we deserve a straight answer."

Annie wasn't having it, she clenched her jaw and shook her head slightly. " _So_? _I_ think you deserve a straight up _kick_ to the head but you don't see me fucking _roundhousing_ you in the face." She snapped at him.

He could only roll his eyes at her caustic response. "And _thanks_ so much for that. But _seriously_ …"

She threw her hands up in defeat, " _Humans_. Alright? _God_." She said with a sigh, her left hand rose and began rubbing her temple like she had a headache. " _Alan_ and I?" She put an emphasis on her uncle, "We're _just_ humans who _happen_ to have access to resources and knowledge."

Stiles looked skeptical. He had a feeling there was a _lot_ more to her and Deaton than she was letting on. He had been suspicious of her before, and while she _did_ help them tonight, he was even _more_ wary of her _now_. Annie wasn't going to give up answers easily, not when she was so incensed with them. He made a mental note to approach her when she wasn't feeling so _hostile_.

 _When_ isn't _she hostile, though_?

Pushing the thought away, he watched her for a moment, scrutinizing the girl and pushing himself to continue his search for answers.

It wasn't like they were going anywhere any time soon.

Stiles asked her another question, one that was had been burning within him for the past several minutes. "Why'd you make Scott look like that back there?" He asked, crossing his arms as he leaned against the window.

"Like _what_?" She asked innocently. She should've known better, though. There was no chance of Stiles dropping it.

Out of her periphery, she saw a muscle in his jaw twitch. "Like he was _crazy_. Like he didn't know what was happening." He said tensely, preparing to defend his terribly unlucky best friend.

Annie finally twisted in her seat to face him directly, clasping her hands together in her lap. "Because he _doesn't_." She insisted, leaning back and gearing up for a rant. "We don't _know_ if Derek's _actually_ dead. If he _isn't_ then we throw an innocent man to the law. _And_ everyone thinks he's affiliated with some insane serial killer!" She said, attracting the attention of the other three on the other side of the room as her voice rose.

She swallowed hard and crossed her arms, looking down at her sock-clad feet. "I dunno about _you_ , but being called for intensive questioning _probably_ isn't all that fun."

Realization crossed his features. "You were trying to help him? _All_ of that was helping him?" He asked incredulously, like the very thought had never occurred to him.

If she rolled her eyes one more time, she was going to strain a nerve. "That's the _only_ thing I've _been_ doing since I got here and realized that dumbass was a werewolf."

Stiles' hand flew up to rub the top of his head, his eyes narrowing in thought. "Um- _no offense_ , but _how_ have you been doing that? All you've made him feel is anxious and paranoid."

" _Good_. Y'all wouldn't know what _subtlety_ was even if it hit you in the fucking _face_."He looked at her with confusion, making her sigh once more. Folding her arms over her chest, she gave a half-shrug. "I figured if you guys were suspicious of someone catching onto his secret that you'd be a little more conscientious of what you said and did in public. Evidently, I was _very_ wrong." She muttered the last bit to herself, but he still picked up on it.

Allison's voice then floated over to them. "I don't _get_ this." She whispered, pale and shaking. "I-I don't get why he's out there, and why he _left_ us. And I can't… I can't stop my hands from shaking." She swallowed down a rising sob. Jackson stretched out his hands and clasped them between his own, a gesture that wasn't lost on _anyone_.

"It's okay. It's okay. It's gonna be okay." He comforted her, ignoring the way the other three, especially his girlfriend, stared at the uncharacteristically compassionate act.

Annie's gaze drifted immediately towards Lydia, who looked straight ahead, focusing on the teacher's lab bench in the front of the classroom instead of the intimate moment between her best friend and her boyfriend. Annie hopped off her stool and strode over to stand beside Lydia, nudging her gently. The redhead gave her a small half-smile, though she seemed distracted. Her eyes once more found the teacher's lab bench where she mixed together the makeshift explosive for Scott.

With a frown, she turned her head to Jackson. "Jackson, you handed me the sulfuric acid, right? It _has_ to be sulfuric acid. It won't ignite if it's not." She said, increasingly panicked by the thought that she sent Scott out there with a faulty mixture.

Jackson was quick to snap at her. "Look, I gave you exactly what you asked for, didn't I?"

Annie shot him a dirty look as she watched Lydia shrink back and give him an uncertain nod. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure you did." She said quietly, turning her gaze down to her heel clad feet.

As Lydia stared at her heels, she couldn't help but look over at Annie's socks, dusty from all the running she did without shoes on. She frowned. "Why were you even _here_?" She asked, the same question she had asked earlier but never received an answer for.

Allison, too, watched Annie carefully. Annie gave a nondescript shrug, launching into an explanation. "Uh, Scott and I were both at the clinic and… he said he could give me a ride home." She said, trying to stay as vague as she could and hoping Lydia would stop her interrogation.

"Well, where was _your_ car?" Lydia asked.

Annie looked down, like she was upset about what she was about to say, "It wouldn't start, I think I accidentally left my GPS on and it just… you know, completely drained the battery." She grimaced for effect.

Lydia furrowed her brows. "So, whose car was outside? I didn't think Scott had one. And why did _you_ drive here? What were you even _doing_ here?" She directed her last questions to Stiles, who had finally made his way over to the rest of them at seeing Annie be put under metaphorical trial. He promptly blanched at being called out so aggressively by the object of his long-spent affections.

They were both saved from having to answer any of Lydia's questions, though, when a loud, guttural growl rang out through the silence, startling them all. Not a moment later, Jackson fell to the ground in what appeared to be _excruciating_ pain.

Allison and Lydia immediately bent down to try and support him. Looking down, she frowned at seeing three distinct crescent moon-like nail marks, and from the looks of them, they were _deep_. Jackson's hand flew up and pressed against the marks as he began screaming and writhing around in pain.

The two other girls lifted him up and looked at him with wide, concerned eyes, but he was quick to wave them away. "Ugh, no, I'm fine." He shoved the two of them away from him. " _Seriously_ , I'm okay." He said, his voice back at a speaking volume like nothing had just happened.

"That didn't _sound_ okay at all." Allison protested.

"What's on the back of your neck?" Stiles asked, lifting a hand to point at it.

 _Ah_ , so she wasn't the only one who noticed the strange marks.

Jackson slapped his hand away from him, "I said I'm _fine_." Stiles didn't seem all that satisfied with the answer though and continued peering around Jackson's shoulders to stare at the wound.

Lydia crossed her arms in frustration, shifting her gaze between them all. "It's been there for _days_ and he won't tell me what happened." She admitted for him.

Jackson shot her a dirty look, "As if you _actually_ care." He snapped at her.

Lydia looked down once more at her feet and Annie pushed herself off the lab bench she was leaning against to stand in front of her. "Hey, I'm just _curious_ , are you able to _not_ act like an absolute _prick_ for more than three minutes? It seems like it's been very hard for you." She shot back.

Stiles shook his head and raised his hands, "Alright, can we _not_ argue for like, half a second here?"

Allison jumped off her spot on the table top and began pacing. "Where's Scott? He should be back by now." She whispered, making them all fall back into a tense silence.

Annie sighed and moved away from the group, nudging Stiles' side and gesturing for him to follow. He obliged, shuffling away from the others. Stiles bent down at the knees so that she could whisper in his ear.

"I'm thinking I should go out there. Go after him." She said lowly, pressing her lips together.

Stiles blinked for a moment, straightening up and simply staring at her, like he was trying to figure out whether she was joking or not. "Are you _insane_? The only reason that I agreed _he_ go out there is because he can leap from buildings and grow _claws_."

She gave a nonchalant shrug and pulled the chain of her necklace, lifting up the vial out from under her shirt. "And _I've_ got anti-werewolf powder around my neck."

Stiles almost _inflated_ as he furrowed his brows and narrowed his eyes at her. "What is _with_ you?" He hissed, lifting his hands up and clenching them into frustrated fists. "One minute you're acting like we personally _murdered_ your cat and the next you're itching to face down an _alpha_ for us?"

Annie scratched the side of her nose before giving another nonchalant shrug. "I'm more of a dog person, to be honest." She said flippantly.

"Wha- _Can you take this seriously_?" He asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

She pursed her lips and looked down, picking at a loose string on the end of her sleeve."It's not that deep, calm down, _God_." She muttered before sighing heavily, " _Look_ , I can recognize that I've done nothing to ease the pressures on McCall, the very least I can do for him _now_ is make sure he's _alive_."

He looked at her with doubt and she slumped over, no longer finding the energy within herself to put up any more of a fight. "Stilinski, _believe me_ when I say that _none_ of this is easy for me. I didn't want to get involved with this shit. Or at least, not so _soon_. But shit happens and here we are."

His eyes bore into her and the corners of his lips twitched down into a slight frown as he took in her fatigued features. Suddenly, she wasn't stone-faced or infuriatingly nonchalant. She was a teenage girl who was just as in over her head as the rest of them were.

A loud, metallic _snap_ at the door wrenched them out of the moment. the entire quintet snapped their attention towards the sound. There, in the window, was the shaggy-haired silhouette of their missing group member.

"Scott? Scott!" Allison called out, moving rapidly towards the door and grabbing the stool out from under the handle. She tried opening the door but the handle wouldn't budge. As hard as she pushed down on it, it remained unmoved.

Lydia's brows knitted together, confused as Scott's figure ambled away from the door. "Where's he going?"

"Scott? Scott! _Scott!_ " Allison continued to yell, banging on the door simultaneously as she tried, in vain, to bring Scott back to the door.

Lydia reached out and grabbed Allison's shoulder. "Stop. _Stop_!"

Allison breathed heavily as she stared at the redhead. Lydia dropped her hand and looked at them all with wide, hopeful eyes. "Do you hear that? _Listen_."

The faint, muffled sound of sirens filled the silence. They all looked at each other before rushing towards the windows on the other side of the room. As they looked out, sure enough, they were greeted by the sight of two cop cars screeching to a halt behind Stiles' Jeep.

The relief in the air was _palpable_. All but one let out a sigh and slumped over, no longer feeling distressed or pained. But Annie _couldn't_ feel the same rush of respite the rest of the group did. She couldn't bring herself to feel _any_ sort of peace.

She wasn't _truly_ safe yet, and she _still_ had no idea what happened to Alan.

* * *

"It was Derek Hale." Scott's adamant declaration nearly sent her into a frenzy. _Yes_ , Hale was aggressive and unpredictable, and she was _sure_ he was a pain in Scott's ass, but he had the potential to be _valuable_ to Scott. _Especially_ if he was still _alive_ , which Scott seemed to be forgetting was a real possibility.

"We. _Don't_. Know." She cut in. "It was dark and it was hectic. We have _no_ idea what happened, all we wanted to do was to find somewhere safe to be." She interjected once more, feeling like a broken record.

The sheriff turned around and stared at each one for a moment. Stiles rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, not meeting his father's gaze while both Annie and Scott stared earnestly at him. He sighed and shook his head, "Stay. All of you." He ordered, pointing at them.

As soon as the sheriff was out of earshot, Annie rounded on Scott. All the stress and frustration from the night's events bubbling up to the surface and manifesting as total rage. "Will you take your head out of your own _ass_ for _one_ second, McCall?" She snapped, lifting a hand and slapping him on the shoulder.

" _What_?" He hissed, completely affronted at the assault.

"I told you to do _one_ thing at the clinic." She said, lifting a single finger and pointing aggressively at him. "Can you remember what it was? I'll give you a hint, it was to _not fuck it up_. "

"Did you stop to _think_ about the possibility that Derek's _not_ dead? You just threw your only other ally to the wolves."

"Nice pun." Stiles interjected sarcastically.

Her expression dulled. "I know what I said." She rolled her eyes and turned back to Scott. "I have given you chance after _chance_ all night but you wouldn't pick up the hints I fucking _lobbed_ at you. Not to mention everyone, _including Allison_ , thinks you're friends with a serial killer. So, _congrats_ on a job well done, real gre-"

Scott finally had enough berating. "Will you _stop_?" He raised his voice with a scowl. Annie took offense that he interrupted her tirade. "I _know_ I'm not handling any of this well. I don't need you to point it out to me!"

 _That_ made her pause and take a breath.

"But what am I supposed to _do_? There's no _manual_ for this kind of thing!"

All her anger and irritation at the situation had been directed towards Scott, who was easily the most convenient scapegoat available to her. And while she had moments of understanding, she had been going around thinking he was simply making decisions without any worry about the consequences, when in reality he was _fully_ aware of the bad choices he was giving into.

He just couldn't see any other way.

Annie set her mouth into a hard line, looking bashfully at her, now, shoe-adorned feet.

Stiles awkwardly cleared his throat, throwing his hands up in mock celebration, " _Well_ , we survived, You know? Outlasted the _alpha_. It's still good, right? Being _alive_." He said enthusiastically, trying to inject some optimism into the night's events.

Scott frowned, a line appearing between his brows, "When we were in the chemistry room, it walked _right_ by us. You don't _think_ that it heard us? You don't think it knew _exactly_ where we were?"

Stiles grimaced, giving a half-shrug. "W-well… Annie put down that… that ash stuff. You said that it kept things out right?" He asked, turning his gaze to her.

Looking back up, she tilted her head in thought, " _Physically_ , yeah. But… It could've still torn the door open if it really wanted to, it just wouldn't have been able to get across the threshold. But also… it had walked past us even before I had laid down the barrier. It could've _easily_ come through."

Stiles looked at the two of them before ducking his head slightly and shaking it, the whole situation once more becoming a total mystery to him. "Well, then… how come we're still _alive_?"

Annie crossed her arms over her chest but lifted up a single finger as she thought about that very point. "You know, I was thinking the _exact_ same thing when we ran into the cafeteria. Realistically, none of us could've outrun that thing except for _maybe_ Scott."

"It wants me in its _pack_." Scott nearly yelled. Annie shot him a dirty look for speaking so loudly. He ignored the look but lowered his voice. "But I think, first… I _have_ to get rid of my old pack."

Stiles narrowed his eyes and shifted his weight as he looked at his best friend. Annie could practically _hear_ the gears turning in his head as he tried to make sense of what Scott just said. "What do you _mean_? _What_ old pack?" He asked, crossing his arms, his shoulders slumping slightly.

Understanding crossed her features. "Us." She whispered, feeling a cold sweat break out across her skin.

It wasn't unheard of werewolves killing their own pack, metaphorical or otherwise, in order to get stronger. It made sense, from a strategic standpoint at least, that the alpha would want only a strong beta to join its pursuits for revenge.

It didn't make the realization any easier to handle.

" _What_?" Stiles asked in alarm.

She swallowed hard, her mouth becoming dry all of a sudden. " _Us_. All of us. _Any_ of us." She said cryptically, launching into a list. "Allison, Jackson, Lydia, you, me. If Scott doesn't have _us_ , who does he have left?"

Stiles looked off into the distance, staring at a parked cop car, his jaw going slack. "The alpha. It doesn't want to kill us." He said slowly.

"It wants me to do it." Scott finished, quietly, turning his back to them. "And that's not even the worst _part_." He continued, still refusing to look directly at them.

Stiles threw his hands in the air in surprise, his eyes widening and brows lifting. " _How_ in h-holy _hell_ is that _not_ the worst part, Scott?"

"Because when he _made_ me shift… I _wanted_ to do it. I wanted to kill you. All of you."

The pain his voice was what Annie felt the most. He was _guilty_ for what happened, and as much as Annie _wanted_ to be angry at him, to use him as an easy scapegoat, someone to put the blame on, it would have been horribly unfair of her to do.

Annie audibly sighed, like she was begrudgingly admitting something to herself. "But you didn't." She started off quietly, a clear change from how she _had_ been speaking to him all night. "Werewolf lesson number one. The bond between an alpha and its beta is one of the most powerful ones on the planet. Nobody actually fully understands it. The alpha can exert an _immense_ amount of power over what the beta does. So that feeling of wanting to kill us? That _really_ wasn't _you_. That was the alpha projecting what _it_ wanted you to do."

Scott was still uncertain, but the tension in his shoulders seemed to have been alleviated.

They stood in silence, looking around the hectic scene around them before Annie took a step away from them. "Guys." She called over her shoulder. The two boys turned to her warily. "Derek's car is gone." She observed, her brows furrowing.

Stiles took a step forward to stand beside her, staring at the spot where the Camaro had been parked hours before. "Maybe… maybe it was-"

"Deaton!" Scott suddenly exclaimed, spotting his boss a little ways away from them.

"Nevermind." Stiles muttered.

Annie couldn't even describe the emotions she felt the moment Scott had said her uncle's surname in absolute _delight_ and _relief_. She had fully expected only _grief_ to come out of this night for her, what with her type of luck. But perhaps the universe decided to take it easy on her this time.

"Oh, my God." She ran forwards, leaving Scott and Stiles behind. She quickly approached the ambulance where her uncle sat, a shock blanket draped around his shoulders and an EMT checking out the lacerations scattered across his face.

"There you are." He exclaimed, causing the medic to look over her shoulder and move out of the way before she was tackled by a sprinting teenage girl.

Annie immediately threw her arms around him, surprising him. He hesitantly lifted his arm and wrapped it around her torso, patting her on the back as she buried her head into the crook of his neck.

"I-I didn't know if you were okay, or if it _got_ you o-or if-" She whispered shakily.

He pressed his lips together and simply let her squeeze him. "It's okay, I'm alright. I'm fine." He soothed.

"H-how did you-" Scott's voice behind her caused Annie to abruptly stand straight up and wrench herself away from Alan's embrace. She kept her back to Scott and Stiles, who she assumed was beside him. Instead, she looked to the night sky, trying to rid herself of the vague, burning sensation behind her eyes.

"Get out?" Alan supplied. He continued on, his tone nothing but pleasant. "Not easily. And from what they tell me, I'm alive because of you."

" _That's_ a stretch." She muttered under her breath, tilting her head back down.

Alan ignored her and simply looked at Scott, a serene smile on his face and offered a happy, "I think I owe you a raise."

* * *

Annie pressed her hands to the hot mug of tea, watching steam curl into the air, rolling across the surface of the beverage. Neither one of them said anything to each other as they were taken home, but Alan made a beeline towards the kitchen the minute they crossed the threshold into the house.

She had wordlessly followed him and threw herself into a chair, watching him prepare two cups of tea. She let herself slump down into the seat enough for her to stare up at the ceiling, where she began to count each individual bump in the stucco texture.

At about forty-eight, the sweet smell of chamomile with a fresh hint of lemon balm made its way into her nostrils as he placed a mug right in front of her.

They sat in heavy silence for several minutes before Annie couldn't take it anymore. Quietly clearing her throat, she lifted her eyes, "How'd you… you know-" She asked, a small frown pulling at the corners of her lips as the sound of her voice, soft and weak, reached her own ears.

"Escape?" He offered, lifting the mug to his lips.

Annie shook her head and swallowed hard. " _Survive_?" She corrected.

"You're not the only one who carries mountain ash around, Annie." He gave her a pointed look. "I was able to get out of the car from the other side and I made my way into the woods before I realized we weren't alone. I set down a circle and just stayed there until I saw the police arrive. I trusted you had the situation under control."

Annie couldn't help but slump over slightly, feeling a wave of relief all over again. All night she feared she would leave the school and see her uncle shredded up and torn to pieces, a visual she was uncomfortably familiar with. She had to swallow the absolute _terror_ she felt at the idea of burying another family member.

"How are _you_ doing?" Came Alan's gentle voice, interrupting her horrified stream of consciousness.

He seemed hesitant, like he didn't want to start the conflict that would undoubtedly arise with the implication that Annie wasn't dealing with her experiences very well (no matter _how_ accurate that statement was). But he seemed determined all the same. Granted, it was an _important_ question that _needed_ to be asked, _especially_ after what happened only a few hours ago.

Annie struggled with her words before settling on a quiet. "I'm… I dunno." She muttered.

Alan almost gave away his surprise, but he was quick to catch himself. If he remembered correctly, this was probably the _first_ time she hadn't brushed her feelings off with a quick and flippant _'I'm fine_.'

Almost as though Annie knew what he was thinking, she was quick to follow up. "I'll be fine." She added. "You know, actually I think all I need is some sleep and I'll be great. G'night, Alan." She gave him a tight-lipped smile, quickly walking over to the sink where she tipped the mug over, emptying it out before speed walking past her uncle and up the stairs.

She slowly and quietly closed her door, unable to keep the floodgates closed. Annie turned her back towards the door, letting herself slide down to the ground, her head falling onto her knees. Her chest tightened as hot tears welled up in her eyes and began streaming down her cheeks, her breath coming out in rough and broken up sobs.

Annie finally let herself give into all the feelings she forced down during the night. The fear, the panic, the absolute _dread_. She rose a fist to her mouth, her teeth biting down hard on her index finger as she tried her best to muffle her breakdown.

She _hated_ that she had felt like that again. Before coming to Beacon Hills, Annie promised herself a quiet life. One where she wouldn't be reminded of the trauma she experienced every corner she turned. One where she could leave her past behind and begin a new future. But as strong as her desire for a _normal_ and unassuming life was, it seemed like it was no match for whatever fate had in store for her.

She thought she had come to terms with that when she agreed to help Scott from behind the scenes. She could deal with the idea of pulling strings and gently guiding him in the right direction that wouldn't result in him accidentally mauling someone he cared about. But instead of taking it all at her own pace, she was thrown violently back into a life of running away from the very creature she was taught to trust and serve.

Annie ripped her knuckle away, looking down blearily and finding broken skin and blood beginning to pool. She tucked her hand under her armpit and squeezed her eyes shut as her chest heaved more and more violently. Breathing had become difficult, like she had only _just_ sprinted away from the alpha. Her hands moved of their own accord, sliding up her throat before sliding back down her windpipe, her arm resting on her heaving chest, as though the action itself could bring back the feeling of unobstructed airways.

She cried harder, her chest growing tight as bile rose in her throat.

She didn't remember dragging herself away from the door, but she somehow made it to the end of her bed, where she hoisted herself up. Pulling the knit blanket at the edge of her bed, she tossed it over her head and curled up, assuming a tight fetal position.

She knew she was going to hate herself for more than one reason in the morning, but she couldn't help but feel _ashamed_ , as well. Was _this_ the recovery, the _progress_ she made? Was _this_ the person she was going to be for the rest of her life?

Sometimes she wondered if it would have been easier to let herself be taken by the alpha all those months ago.

Surely, _had_ to be better than being so fucking _scared_ all the time, right?

Annie shut her eyes and let the thought linger, let the darkness envelop her and the heat from her breath, trapped by the blanket, slowly seep into her shaking bones. As she drifted off into a restless, but fatigued, slumber, she couldn't help but vaguely wonder whether _this_ was the closest thing to death her own traitorous body and mysterious abilities would let her experience.

* * *

oh wow it's been a real phat while hasn't it, my b

i just wanna take a quick second to thank, from the very bottom of my heart kisaageckos for taking a bullet for everyone and laboriously reading through the steaming shit pile that was my first draft and helping me shape it into something a little more coherent. check her out on tumblr and follow her blog dedicated to the original story she's writing creaturesofthenight

speaking of tumblr, follow me musiciatee to see things like edits, drabbles and extra companion pieces to Sonder!

i also want to thank each and every one of you who have followed and faved this story, and for those of you who have taken the time to leave a review, I truly can't thank you enough. seeing a review really can give me a high that'll last for weeks, like seriously, i'll go back and stalk reviews to motivate me to write, so thank you so much for giving me the energy to continue! a huge thanks to princessdarkness12, amrawo, kisaageckos, evryatom, akagami hime chan, justforme123, janedoee7, you guys have seriously motivated me so much, thank so much!


	10. Lunatic

Annie was no stranger to feeling like she had been run over by a truck in the morning. It had been a long, restless night of sleep thoroughly evading her.

She wasn't surprised. She figured being chased down by a psychopathic werewolf alpha was bound to make someone feel a bit _off_.

She groaned aloud as she rolled over onto her back to stare at the ceiling. Raising her hands, she let them run over her face before she rubbed her eyes. She rolled out of bed, throwing her blanket off her body and began dragging herself around her room to complete her morning routine.

Soon enough she was clad in a pair of leggings and a sweatshirt, tugged on her running sneakers, and speeding out of her room with her phone and her earbuds in hand. Annie ignored the way her body screamed and ached. Her head throbbed, her legs were _burning_ , and even though she hadn't been _touched_ in any way, it felt like she had bruises scattered all around her body.

She knew she needed rest, but above all, she needed to feel a little more _alive_ and running always granted the exact sensation she was looking for. Although, she figured that running around without the feeling of impending doom of an alpha breathing down her neck would be a _lot_ more invigorating.

As Annie descended the stairs, she could hear Alan speaking. He paused, probably due to hearing her approaching footsteps, and he began to quickly wrap up the conversation with whoever was on the other line. "Yeah… yeah, I'll try but I doubt I'll get anywhere with her." Stopping on the last step, she narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Was he talking about her? She wasn't jumping to conclusions was she?

Nah, he was _definitely_ talking about her.

She crossed her arms as she leaned forward slightly, trying to hear more, but wanting to stay hidden behind the wall. "Ye- I'll keep you updated. Yea- Okay, bye." He sighed in exasperation.

Rolling her eyes, she took the final step down and turned into the kitchen. "How's Auntie doing?" She asked conversationally, making a beeline towards the table he was sitting at and taking the seat directly in front of him. She reached forward and grabbed an apple from the fruit basket in the middle before settling back and letting the chair tilt backward on its back two legs.

She bit into the fruit as she raised an eyebrow at her uncle who only looked at her as nonchalantly as possible. "Who said that was Marin?" He asked, mimicking her expression and raising an eyebrow.

Annie scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Who else do you get so visibly annoyed with?"

He gestured to her entire body. "A perfect example sits before me." He said, sparing no time in retorting.

"You're hilarious." She said dryly, letting the chair drop back to the ground. She pushed it back and got up, taking another bite out of her apple as she walked towards the doorway out of the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" He called to her.

"For a run."

Alan audibly sighed, lifting a hand to rub his forehead."Maybe you should, and hear me out-" he held up his hands in a placating gesture, already anticipating her instinct to argue. "-take it easy for once?" He asked pointedly. "From what it sounds like, you've done quite a lot of running lately. You need to _rest_." He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms.

Annie turned around and rolled her eyes. " _And_ I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot _more_ running." She emphasized. Shrugging, she jerked her thumb back toward the door. "So, seems like I should keep in shape. I've been lazy over the past couple of months."

"I don't think _recuperating_ qualifies as being _lazy_."

"Tomato, tomahto."

Alan shook his head, determined to make her see reason. "Yesterday was a lot. Maybe you should stay in? We could talk about what hap-"

Annie grimaced and jumped in to interrupt him. "Yeah, I'm gonna stop you right there, Uncle Alan. Damn, thought you'd know me better than this." She sighed, mock disappointment masking her discomfort.

Pursing his lips, he refused to give up. Not when he still had some of her attention. "Well, why don't we talk about what you'll be doing from now on. After all, your entire _fly on the wall_ route isn't going to be working from here on out. Scott and Stiles seem like they'd be…" He trailed off, unsure of how to finish his description.

She took a final bite, finishing up the apple and held it by the stem. "Unrelenting assholes?" She offered dryly, speaking around the mouthful of fruit.

"I was going to say _inquisitive_ , but _sure_."

His cellphone, lying screen up in front of him, lit up as it began to ring. He looked down and furrowed his brows. "Speak of the devil… It's Scott."

" _Excuse_ me?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as she took a step forward as though to look at the screen herself.

"This one's all you." He shrugged, holding out the phone for her to take.

She immediately backed away, "He's calling _you_!"

"I have a feeling _you're_ the one he really wants to speak to."

She stared at him before breaking down with an eye roll and a sigh. She took up her seat at the table and set the apple core down. Taking the phone from her uncle's outstretched hand, she answered with a bored, drawn-out, " _Hello_?" but her uninterested tone did nothing to discourage McCall from pursuing the conversation.

"A-Annie?" Came the unsure call.

"How's it going, dumbass?" She greeted.

" _Annie_." Alan hissed, looking at her pointedly. Scott's voice chastised her at the same time. "No need to be mean!"

She held her free hand up apologetically, but nevertheless kept her tone steely when she spoke up. "I actually think I have every right to be mean right now, thank you. I don't particularly enjoy being engaged in a deadly game of _tag_."

"Yeah, uh, about that… I, um… Well-"

" _Gimme that_." There was some rustling and a sound of indignation from Scott before Stiles' voice came through the receiver. "We need to talk." He declared.

 _Great_.

Annie slumped in her seat. She stretched out her free hand onto the table before her and began tapping on the wood, "Oh, man. That doesn't sound good. Are we breaking up?" She drawled.

Stiles didn't hesitate with his answer. "Depends on how this goes. Meet at my house, 129 Woodbine Lane, tomorrow at seven. You down?"

"Doesn't sound like I have much of a choice." She sighed.

"Well, you _do…_ I mean, you could just _not_ show up."

"Yeah, but then that'd make me a _real_ asshole."

"Are you not already?" She could _hear_ how proud he was of that one.

"Easy, Stilinski." She warned before hanging up and sliding the phone back to her uncle.

There was a moment of silence in which neither one of them moved. Annie broke it by exhaling sharply and standing up, her chair scraping against the floor. Giving her uncle a bright- but forced- smile, she began to once again make her way towards the doorway. "Okay, now that we've got _that_ sorted, I'm going on my run."

"Annie, if this is the road you choose to take, it _has_ to be the only road." Alan's voice was soft but firm.

Keeping her back turned to him, Annie squeezed her eyes shut. "Says who?" She asked, her voice quiet but indignant.

"Says someone who knows exactly what kind of decision you're faced with right now. For your sake, and for Scott's sake, you can't pop in and out of this world whenever you please."

Snapping her eyes open, Annie threw her hands up defensively as she turned around to finally face him. "Look, I was just going to give him a quick rundown of what's he's dealing with so he's not completely _clueless_ and then he can deal with it on his own." She barked out a humorless laugh and pointed at his cell phone. "Actually, he won't even be on his own! Stiles will _definitely_ be there so I'll throw him some wolfsbane just in case and they'll be perfectly fine."

Alan's eyebrow shot up, the skepticism more than clear in his expression. "Do you really believe that?"

"They're dumb but not like… _morons_. They're not completely hopeless." Or at the very least, she had faith that they'd _eventually_ get to the point where they weren't completely hopeless.

"Annie." There was something in Alan's tone that made her sober up.

She crossed her arms, her shoulders hunching up. "Can't I just… help him figure out the beginning stuff and let him go off into the wild when he's caught up? Like… training wheels? I could be his wolfy training wheels." She smiled weakly.

"You could." He said simply, but she stared at him, feeling as though there was more to his statement.

"But…?" She trailed off expectantly.

" _But_ be careful." He had said that phrase to her a lot over the past couple of weeks but they seemed heavier now. There was a deadly seriousness in his voice that made a chill run down Annie's spine. She had been acting too flippant about all of this in a terrible attempt to keep herself from going insane with anxiety. But it was becoming clearer and clearer that she needed to stop acting so casual.

"You may find yourself sucked back into this life and if you are, it will be harder to leave. You'll be yourself responsible for someone now. If you decide that this isn't what you want, _Scott_ will not be the only one to pay the price."

Annie drank in his words, shifting her gaze down to her sneakers. She said nothing in return, letting his words float between them heavily. Keeping her head down, she slowly turned and made her way out of the kitchen to finally go on her long-awaited run.

But what was supposed to be an exercise to ground her became a task in weighing her uncle's words. As much as she wanted to prove him wrong, wanted to prove that she could reign in this life and become its master, the fact of the matter was that Annie was undoubtedly this life's bitch.

They all were.

She couldn't be all wishy-washy about any of this, no matter how deeply she wanted to be able to be a part-time druid. The life would sooner kill her than let her escape its clammy grip. It was either be all in or all out. And after last night? She didn't think she had any other option than to be all in.

* * *

Sitting on Allison's floor as the girl cried into the crook of her neck wasn't _exactly_ Annie's idea of a _great_ night, albeit it was a vast improvement since the previous night. In a perfect world, maybe Annie would've been able to give her friend good advice about the boy who broke her heart, but the best she could do was wrap an arm around the girl's shoulders and let her cry while stroking her hair awkwardly.

"I just… I never thought I would ever _distrust_ him, you know?" Allison sniffled as she pulled away, looking at Annie with red-rimmed eyes.

Annie sighed in sympathy and nodded. Allison wiped her tears away. "Have… have you ever had a bad break up?" She asked softly, seeking some sort of comfort in common experiences. Annie's body tensed at the question and Allison picked up on it almost immediately. It wasn't exactly a _secret_ that Annie liked her personal privacy, especially when it came to her past.

"Oh my _God_ , that was so personal, I'm so sorry." She immediately apologized.

"Yeah," Annie replied quietly.

Allison nodded emphatically, growing guilty at the girl's response. "Yeah, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have asked tha-"

"No, I mean… _yes_ , I _have_ had a bad break up." She admitted quietly, shifting slightly as Allison pulled herself completely away, enraptured by the fact that it seemed like Annie was about to open up.

Annie licked her lips and looked down at her fingers, "Uh… her aunt was my godmother and like, something happened to her parents so she came to live with _her_ and that's when we met and she just seemed so… like, too good to be true you know?"

She was still unsure about what role Samara Almeida played in her life, but it was undeniable that she had left a proverbial mark on it in some way. Sam had been her first serious relationship and had certainly been responsible for a series of important firsts. But what Annie now knew was that her relationship with the girl had been something noxious disguised as passionate puppy love.

It started innocently enough, as most relationships did, but it hadn't taken Sam long to show her true colors. Annie had just been too enamored by her to see it until it was too late. "She was _smart_ , _so_ fucking smart and funny and _gorgeous_. I thought I was the _luckiest_ person _ever_ when she asked me out." She reminisced.

Allison nodded, well aware of the sentiments Annie was expressing.

"We honestly hadn't known each other all that long before we started dating and it got so serious so fast, and that's probably on me, I dunno." She grimaced, avoiding Allison's gaze. "But something I realized pretty quick was that she was… I dunno, if _neurotic_ is the right word? She was just… she got obsessed with being the _best_ and being the _priority_ , and if she wasn't, literally everyone around her suffered." She rolled her eyes. "Everything had to be a competition and _she_ always had to come out on top. I dunno, maybe being around all of them got to her." She muttered the last part, almost to herself.

She was under no illusion that being the only human surrounded by werewolves was an easy feat, especially for someone like Sam, who did have some kind of _need_ to be the absolute best in whatever situation she was in. Allison's furrowed brow made her realize what she had just said and she backtracked, "They were all really successful, you know? I think the pressure of trying to be the best just got to be too much and she took it out on me." She said.

Belatedly realizing what her words sounded like, she snapped her gaze up to meet Allison's horrified one. "Not physically or anything! She was just a massive jerk." She was quick to clarify. "Always made me feel guilty for things I couldn't control. Always tried to like… _fashion_ me into her perfect girlfriend? Told me what I could and couldn't do. I dunno… she was a psychopath, I dunno…" She muttered with a shrug, rolling her eyes.

She sighed and shook her head. "It was just getting too toxic." She looked back down at her fingers, letting them run across the textured carpet beneath them. "And… then before I could call things off she uh- disappeared… several months ago… they think she's dead."

It took everything Allison had not to look concerned at the carefully constructed, casual tone Annie was using. It was obvious the girl was holding back. She was still staring at her hands, blinking rapidly. She let out a single, breathy, humorless laugh. "So… not much room for some closure."

They sat in silence for several moments. Annie realized the mood she had just set and cleared her throat. She laughed awkwardly, looking up at the other brunette. " _Shit_ , sorry. I didn't mean for this to get so fucking morbid." She grinned tightly, shaking her head, subtly scratching the side of her nose but also brushing away the burning tears at the corner of her left eye.

"You don't have to apologize, you know?" Allison said softly.

Annie turned her gaze back down.

"It's okay for you to get emotional. I mean… I don't know about everything that's happened to you, but I can tell it's a lot. If you… I'm just… I'm here for you, you know?" Allison said, nudging Annie gently as she sat up straight and sniffled, trying to regain some composure as she tried to become an image of solid support for the girl beside her.

A part of her seemed to _preen_ at _finally_ being recognized. That part of her that just _wanted_ to talk to someone. Of course, Marin had made herself a clear resource, but… _nah_ , there was just something about her aunt that had her unable to open up completely to the woman. Maybe it was simply their relation. After all, she didn't feel any more comfortable confiding in Alan.

But Annie could only shift in discomfort at the attention being turned completely onto her. She shook her head and pressed her lips into a hard half-grimace, half-smile. "I know. I'm good. And so are _you_ , for that matter. You're going to be just fine." She said, trying to shift the attention back to Allison.

There was a moment where Allison knew exactly what she was doing, a look of _'I see you_ ' passing between them before her feelings began weighing back down on her. Uncertainty filled Allison's eyes. "So… Do you think I did the right thing? Breaking up with him?" She couldn't help but ask.

 _God._ How was Annie even supposed to _begin_ to answer that?

She started out speaking softly and slowly, a clear sign that she was thinking of her words right on the spot. "I think… I don't think Scott's a _bad_ guy. But…"

"But?" Allison prompted.

Annie sighed and looked down "I also don't think you know him as well as you _should_. If we're being honest with each other, Allison, you jumped into a relationship with him pretty fast." She shook her head and shrugged, "I mean… that was one of the reasons _my_ relationship was doomed." She said.

She lifted her head, watching as Allison seemed to mull around Annie's words, a look of uncertainty clear on her face. Annie lifted a hand and placed it on Allison's shoulder. "Al, why don't we… let's forget all about past relationships. Why don't we go downstairs, lose ourselves to really dumb reality TV, order some gross food? I mean… that's like, the _protocol_ for this kind of shit, right?" She grinned, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

Allison opened her mouth but before she could give her answer, the sound of the door opening and an unfamiliar voice calling out interrupted her. "Hey, sweetie, I wanted to just che-" A tall woman walked in and stopped in her tracks as she spotted the two teens. "Oh, I didn't know you had a friend over." She said, speaking to Allison.

"Oh, yeah. I don't think you've met. Kate, this is Annie Emery, the one I've told you about? Annie, this is my aunt Kate."

"Gnarly looking scar." The woman said, a friendly smile on her face.

Annie blinked, having not expected _that_ as a greeting.

An awkward silence, seemingly unfelt by Kate, settled on the trio. Annie recovered after a few moments. Blinking, she swallowed her shock at the woman's blatant insensitivity before giving her own uncertain reply. "Uh… Yeah. Gnarly _feeling_ scar?" She said, her tone pitching upwards at the end, making it seem as though she were posing a question.

"Oh, my _God_ , Kate!" Allison exclaimed, getting over her shock at the question much later than Annie had.

" _What_?" Kate held her hands up defensively before gesturing towards Annie. "It's not like _she_ doesn't know it."

 _Fair_.

"How'd you get it?" Her clear interest was palpable.

 _Unfair._

The smile on Kate's face was disarming. It _looked_ genuine, but there was a calculated sharpness to her eyes that alerted Annie to the woman's ulterior motives. Knowing for certain of Allison's ties to the hunting family made her much more wary of the sweet girl's relatives. She didn't think she had much to worry about though, the scars acted almost as protection when it came to hunters, as funny as it was. When someone was turned, their whole biology fundamentally changed as well, which was why it was difficult to find werewolves with serious scars or remnants of wounds.

Clearly, she wasn't lucky enough to have that kind of accelerated healing and so, for now, she was safe from suspicion.

"Bear." She answered shortly. She was _certain_ Kate wouldn't believe her, but that was the story that was out there in the world, if Kate decided to go hunting for answers, she might as well stick to the lie she told everyone else.

" _Ooh_ , got some more there too." She gestured to her own left forearm. Looking at Annie slyly, she raised an inquisitive brow. "You got any others you can show off?"

Annie pulled down her sleeves self-consciously. "I think I should take this moment to remind you that I'm a minor." She commented snidely. "My body isn't on display for you to look at."

Kate seemed completely unperturbed by Annie's dry contempt, her smile was still on her lips and perhaps even _grew_ at the girl's disdain. "Allison, didn't you say this one was _quiet_?"

Before Allison could answer, Annie cut in, "I _am_. I just can't help myself when dumb things are said."

Kate narrowed her eyes, almost imperceptibly, as she let out a little breathy laugh before she turned to her niece. "Hey, I just bought several tubs of ice cream, why don't we go downstairs and watch a movie? Ally, why don't you pick what we watch? Annie and I can get the ice cream."

 _Ooh, that's probably not good_.

Allison looked between them for a moment before tentatively returning her Aunt's smile. "Yeah, uh, okay. Sounds like a good idea."

 _God damn it, Allison._

Annie begrudgingly got up from her spot on the floor and followed Kate and Allison out of the room. She descended the stairs slowly, trailing behind them before they split off, with Kate walking towards the kitchen and Allison towards their living room. Annie paused for a moment and looked at Allison's back before Kate whistled, making her jump and whip around.

"Woah, a little jumpy, are we?" She laughed.

Annie didn't say anything, only shrugged as a reply. Kate pressed on. "I know this house is big, but not big enough to get _lost_. C'mon, kid." She said, gesturing for her to follow her into the room.

Annie complied with a grimace, following the tall woman through the threshold and lingering at the doorway as she watched her gather bowls from the cupboard. Kate tossed a glance over her shoulder, "So, a _bear_ , huh?" She asked, her tone was filled with the type of forced nonchalance Annie was all too familiar with.

"Mhm." She hummed, hoping that her disengagement from the conversation would discourage Kate from pursuing it.

No such luck.

Kate turned around and placed the ceramic bowls on the smooth, marble countertop of the kitchen island. She let her body lean against the countertop behind her. "C'mon, _Annie_ , girl to girl, what was it _really?_ "

Annie wrapped her arms around herself, her fingers gripping her forearms tightly. " _Look_ , no offense to your _intuition_ or whatever it is driving you to harass me about my _trauma_ , but I think I know a bear when I see one, _especially_ when it's tearing at my face."

Kate backed away, holding her hands up placatingly before reaching towards the freezer. "Hey, I'm not trying to start anything. I just wanna get to know my niece's friends, especially someone who's strong enough to survive a were- _ahem_ , _bear_ attack."

It took everything Annie had not to roll her eyes at Kate's obvious slip-up and attempt to get her to open up.

"Must've been hard. Especially with the wild animal attacks happening now." Kate tried again, sympathy filling her voice.

What if she just _walked out_? Was that rude? Of course it was, but then again, so was badgering a teenage girl about her traumatic past. Annie clenched her jaw and forced herself to get through the shitty conversation. "It _is_ hard." She bit out. "And I don't need more reminders of it when I've got all the ones I need permanently _etched_ into my body." She said pointedly.

A small smirk played on Kate's lips. "Well, from one badass to another, if you ever want to talk about what's happening. Maybe even _do_ something about it, you seem like a brave, driven girl, it wouldn't be hard for you to _do_ it."

Was… was this _actually_ happening? At that moment, Annie had a delayed realization that Kate must've made an assumption about her that was _horribly_ wrong.

 _When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me, Kate._

Kate must've thought Annie harbored a deep resentment for the creatures that changed her life. But what Kate didn't include in her calculations was that Annie wasn't a bigoted asshole. She could very well distinguish the difference between the actions of individuals and generalizing those actions and applying them to the group as a whole.

Not only _that_ , but Annie had been raised in a family whose main purpose was to aid and take care of a werewolf pack. And _yes_ she may have been wary of them _now,_ but she knew way too many good werewolves, too many good _people,_ to tarnish all of them with the thought that they should all pay for the actions of a few.

"What am I gonna do? _Hunt_ every _bear_ in existence? That's dumb." She scoffed.

Kate's smile seemed to grow as she saw Annie begin to respond to her. She stood up straighter, readying herself for the chance to argue. "Perhaps, but you have to admit, no one would suffer the same fate anymore."

" _Yeah_ , but there'd be a catastrophic chain reaction." Annie fought. _This_ was the problem with hunters like Kate, they never thought about the long term effects of their actions. They were all shoot first, ask questions later, and even _then_ sometimes they didn't even _ask_ those questions.

Annie shook her head and dropped her arms to her sides. "Nature upholds its own kind of balance. Knock something out of the equation and ecosystems crumble, other species die out, unintended consequences arise and by then it's too late to do anything about it." She finished forcefully.

A tense silence passed between them. Kate gazed down at the young girl, almost like she was appraising her worth. Eventually, a smile stretched across her lips. "You sound like a smart girl, Emery. If not a little cautious."

Annie could only blink in response to the comment, her gaze turning suspicious. She took her time to reply, thinking carefully about her next words. "Well... a little caution goes a long way."

"Not long enough, evidently," Kate said slyly, lifting her chin and gesturing to the left side of her own face. She let her finger slide down casually, mirroring the pattern of Annie's injury.

Annie ground her teeth together. She had set that up for her, but it didn't Kate had to be so _brutal_ in her observation. Before she could bite back with something, Allison ran into the room. "Hey, uh- Kate. The DVD player isn't working. Honestly, I'm just really tired. I think Annie and I'll watch some YouTube and just drift off to sleep. Maybe we can watch movies tomorrow?" She asked, a hopeful look in her big brown eyes.

Kate's eyes narrowed imperceptibly at her niece. but not a moment later, her lips formed a pout and her shoulders slumped over in an impressively convincing show of disappointment. "Yeah, you two must be _exhausted_. Will you be staying the weekend, Annie?"

Annie shook her head, remaining emotionless under the woman's sharp gaze. "Unfortunately not. I've got things to do."

Kate raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, letting her elbows lean against the island countertop beside the bowls she had set down. " _Things_? Sounds absolutely _fascinating_." She drawled before sighing. "But, _ah well_ , maybe next time, huh? Maybe you can tell me all about those _things_."

"I wouldn't hold my breath. Don't take it personally. I don't talk to anyone." Annie answered, crossing her arms and looking down at her feet.

Allison wrapped an arm around the shorter girl's shoulders and began to drag her out of the room. "It's true, she's like a steel trap, which is _awesome_ for secrets. But, uh, thanks, Kate. I'll see you in the morning." She said quickly, turning both of them around and speeding up the stairs, leaving a smiling Kate behind.

"Awesome for secrets, indeed." She whispered to herself.

* * *

"I _warned her_. I _told_ her that it was a slippery slope! It just turned out to be _way_ slippier than we first thought."

Annie found herself assuming a familiar position as she laid on Lydia's bed, her ankles crossed and back propped up against the headboard. Prada laid across her lap as she scratched behind his ear, staring blankly at a spot on the wall just above Lydia's head as she ranted and raved.

" _But_ , of course, no one ever listens to me! Isn't that right, _Annie_?"

Annie lazily dropped her gaze several inches down to look straight into Lydia's unamused eyes. "What'd you say?" She asked innocently, a grin stretching across her lips as Lydia glared at her before reaching behind her, reaching for a shirt off the hanger and throwing it at her.

"This is _serious_! There's something really _weird_ going on with McCall and we don't need Allison to be caught up in it."

She raised an eyebrow, "McCall's _weird_ yeah, but it's not like he'd _hurt_ her."

"We were all literally just abandoned to be at the mercy of a loose murderer who may or may not have ties to the very guy you're _brushing off_."

"I'm not _brushing_ him off. I'm _agreeing_ with you, I think Allison would benefit from some distance. They jumped into that relationship freakishly fast, but there's no need to take shots at his character." She tried to reason.

"And why _not_? Since when have you been on the Scott McCall defense squad?"

She casually lifted her phone, the screen lighting up as she checked the time, "Uh, when did you start talking?"

Lydia only responded by shifting her weight and placing a hand on her hip, a look of pure irritation painting her features.

Annie sighed and sat up, lifting Prada off her lap and placing him beside her. "Look, I'm just _saying_ , we don't know what he's dealing with right now. I'm not saying to throw Allison at him again, just… give him a break before you start scheming to get him arrested or something."

She huffed and rolled her eyes, "Ever since they started dating, our whole dynamic has been completely thrown off. Actually, ever since _Allison_ showed up things have been different."

Annie watched her carefully, alarm bells began to ring in her mind. "So, I guess, ever since _I_ showed up things have been different too." She trailed off casually, tilting her head. "I mean, she showed up not that much later than I did." She said, crossing her arms as she looked at Lydia expectantly.

Lydia seemed to have caught herself too late as she shifted her gaze quickly to Annie and shook her head, "That's not what I mean."

"So, what _do_ you mean?" Annie asked, raising an eyebrow. "'Cause I'm not gonna talk shit about a friend behind her back. So, if you're looking for someone to gossip with or feed your ego or _whatever_ , I can leave and you can call one of your stand-by friends." She said sternly.

Lydia looked down and Annie could see a muscle tick in her jaw as she clearly held her tongue. So she pushed.

"I understand that you've got some kind of freakishly delicate social hierarchy in place where you're at the top and that if even one thing changes it must feel like all your hard work has gone to waste. But I think you know me well enough now to know I'm not about that kind of shit. Lydia, whatever self-worth issue you're dealing with isn't going to go away if you tear down one of your friends without her there to even defend herse-"

"I think Jackson has feelings for her." Lydia blurted out, interrupting Annie's tirade.

Annie froze mid-word and looked at her with a slack jaw, stunned at the admission. "Uh-"

" _That's_ what I mean by things have been completely thrown off. He pays attention to her… more than he does to me. And… and sometimes I catch him touching her in little ways that are _way_ too intimate to be between friends."

Annie shifted in discomfort, not expecting the conversation to take the turn that it did, but she knew exactly what Lydia was referencing. They had all seen the way he had brushed Lydia off at the school, only to pay attention to the shaken Allison. It was only _now_ , though, that Annie saw just how upset Lydia was about the situation.

She had always been under the impression that Lydia and Jackson's relationship was a mutually beneficial… _business_ transaction, quite frankly. They both benefited from being associated with each other and they got their needs out of the way.

But Lydia was _genuinely_ upset. "Um, to be honest, I think that's less _affection_ and more a power grab," Annie said, her tone significantly softer than before.

Lydia looked at her in confusion, making her sigh, "You _definitely_ know what I mean. Jackson feels like his masculinity is being threatened, namely by McCall, and so he tries to assert himself as the… alpha male-" She grimaced at her use of the term. "-by going after his girl. It's all very 1950s."

Annie got up and walked over to Lydia, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Whatever Jackson's going through, he's dealing with it the wrong way. It's not your fault nor is it _Allison's._ " She emphasized, raising her eyebrows pointedly at Lydia, who looked down and crossed her arms. "The guy's just being a jackass." Annie finished throwing her hands up in the air. She shook her head and turned to walk back over to the bed.

Lydia pursed her lips and shook her head, following her to the bed. "Jackson's just… complicated." Even she didn't seem convinced by the excuse.

Annie could only watch as the girl sat down beside her and picked up her dog to cuddle. "You deserve way more than _complicated_." She said firmly. Lydia looked up, an indescribable emotion shining in her eyes before she looked back down, a little smile playing on her painted lips.

* * *

Annie had long let go of the idea that she could make _normal_ plans and follow them. While the majority of her Thursday was spent trying to provide Allison with a solid shoulder to cry on, and her Friday morning and afternoon was dedicated solely to Lydia ranting on and on, she thought that she'd probably prefer all of _that_ to what she had to look forward to later on that day.

Sitting across the table from two, still suspicious, teenage boys as though she were being interrogated was not how she wanted to spend a Friday night.

Granted, it was a conversation that was a long time coming even though it had only been two nights ago that the alpha had attacked them all at the high school. She had _finally_ come clean about knowing all that was going on with Scott and much more. _Now,_ the boys just wanted to know _exactly_ how much she knew, and she wasn't quite sure she wanted to divulge that much information yet. After all, she was still quite annoyed at the whole _getting attacked by an alpha at a high school_ thing.

So, as the two boys sat across from her, Annie sat slumped in her chair, giving herself the air of relaxed faux-confidence.

"So… you know." Stiles awkwardly broke the silence, tapping his foot rapidly against his hardwood floor.

"I know." She confirmed with a nod.

Scott looked at her with wide eyes, as though he had been betrayed. "Why didn't you _say_ something? Couldn't you have _helped_? Before- before _all_ of this?"

Sitting up in her seat, she narrowed her eyes at the werewolf. "I have my reasons." She answered shortly before shaking her head. "And anyway, what was I supposed to say? ' _Hi Scott, you've only talked to me a handful of times but I_ totally _know that you transform into a wolf-man, let me help_?' Yeah, that would have gone over _splendidly_." She scoffed.

She quickly took account of her defensiveness and swallowed hard, forcing herself to stand down. Because he was _right_. She _could_ have helped. All those times she dropped hints that she knew something was going on, all those times she made snide comments about how athletic Scott was or how suspiciously he was acting, she could have _helped_. "But… yeah. You're right. I should've stepped in and helped earlier instead of just watching you two struggle abysmally." She admitted, lifting her right shoulder in a half-shrug. "Although to be fair, I _did_ trying nudging idiot number two over here in the right direction." She said, lifting her chin to gesture at Stiles.

"How long have you known exactly?" Stiles asked, his eyes narrowing at her but otherwise ignoring her jab.

"About the supernatural? Or about Scott?"

He shrugged. "Both, I guess."

Annie slumped once more into her seat and mimicking him, giving a casual shrug. "I've known about the supernatural for pretty much my whole life. But _Scott_? I was suspicious about almost immediately." She turned her pointed gaze to the werewolf.

"Kid, you're _shit_ at keeping secrets." He leaned back, looking thoroughly offended.

She reached forward, tapped on the table in front of him and then pointed at him. "Pro-tip, _bud_. If you were a severe asthmatic a _week_ ago, maybe _ease_ into the backflips on the lacrosse field, yeah?" He pressed his lips together but at least looked sheepish enough for her to relax back into her seat, knowing that her point had been made.

Another stretch of silence descended upon the trio, the three of them looking at each other awkwardly. Scott cleared his throat and sighed, his hand reaching up to grasp at the roots of his hair in frustration. "Well, _now_ what?"

She stretched her hands out, splaying her hands out against the wooden tabletop, her palms rubbing over the dipping ridges of the worn grains. Licking her lips, Annie took her time finding the right words and the right tone to convey her instructions. The fact that Scott, and Stiles for that matter, were willing to sit and _listen_ to her, to ask her for the next steps and advice? That wasn't lost on her and she found herself suddenly under a lot of pressure.

 _Girl, this is what you've trained for._

" _Now_ , we take it one step at a time." She spoke seriously, directing her attention straight to Scott. "You've spent the past month taking on _a lot_ at once and it's catching up to you."

Scott's look of general anxiety eased, if only slightly, at hearing her calm, logical tone. It was a far cry from the sharp barbs she'd lobbed at them on occasion, that was for sure. And while he still didn't quite _trust_ her, something was comforting about the way she spoke to them, like she had it handled. Like _they_ had it handled, like they could actually do this.

"So…" Scott started slowly, unsure of what to say exactly. "Are you going to help us now? How's this going to go down?"

"Let's put it this way. The people _I_ associate with aren't too happy with you right now, and so it'd look _very_ suspicious if I was suddenly best friends with you two, you follow?"

The two nodded.

She lifted her hands to rub at her temples. "At school, it's like nothing's changed. But I'll help you as best I can. More often than not, I'll aid only from a distance." She settled her gaze on the werewolf. "Scott, we should probably meet more often. At first, anyways… you know, to catch up on werewolf basics, familiarize yourself with the changes you're experiencing." He furrowed his brows but nonetheless nodded in her direction.

Giving him a little smile that caught him off guard, she nodded back at him. "We can meet tomorrow. It'll be two days before the full moon so you'll have a day to practice what I teach you."

"And me?" Stiles asked, leaning forward.

Annie's familiar expression of mild irritation made a reappearance. "You're _human_ aren't you? Go read a bio textbook if you still need to familiarize yourself with _your_ body's changes."

He rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed with her response. "You _know_ what I mean!"

"Be on standby. I'll let you know what you can do once _I_ know." And with a final nod, she stood up, grabbed her bag off the ground, and hoisted it over her shoulder. Digging into her pocket, she took her phone out and unlocked it before sliding it across the table. "Put your numbers in, I'll text you back so you'll have my number."

They did as they were told and slid it back to her. Stuffing it into her back pocket, she pushed the chair back in and gave a lazy salute to the two boys. "Do not call or text me unless it is _absolutely_ necessary. You may do so within my business hours which I will establish and let you know of on Monday." She finished, her tone brisk and official, looking between them as their expressions transformed into ones of pure confusion.

Scott looked at her, unsure of whether she was joking or being completely serious. Stiles blinked before spluttering, "A-are you _serious_? We've got a werewolf problem and you wanna establish _business_ hours?"

Pointing at the two of them, she narrowed her eyes at them. "You'll find that I appreciate and value _boundaries_. Good day, boys." She said shortly, providing nothing more of an explanation, before turning on her heel and finally making her way out of Stilinski's house before they could say anything else.

Stiles whipped his head to the side to look at Scott, an expression of incredulity plainly displayed on his face. Scott, whose brows were furrowed and gaze still trained in the direction from which she had left, looked as though he were still trying to process what had just happened.

* * *

She was insane.

She _had_ to be.

To be roaming the woods near the Hale house when she _knew_ that not _only_ was the full moon was quickly approaching, but _also_ that the premises were bound to be surrounded by hunters _and_ police that were looking for the beta _she_ was _also_ looking for, she _had_ to be crazy.

Annie just hoped that her guise of being a simple runner would be enough to throw anyone off.

"Hale?" She whispered under her breath as she jogged lightly, the Hale house visible atop the slight incline of the terrain. "Derek?" She tried once more, a little louder. Sensing a movement behind her, she tensed up and whipped around, relaxing only when she realized it was the very person she was looking for.

 _Tall, dark and broody_ looked as though he hadn't slept in _ages_. Of course, she had no right to say anything about that and he had every excuse to look like the total mess he did. "What are you doing here?" He asked shortly, eyeing her with distrust and irritation.

"You're _so_ predictable, Hale." She rolled her eyes, shifting her weight onto one leg as she crossed her arms.

He simply continued looking down at her in silence. She gave a heavy sigh and dropped her arms.

"I was checking on you." She admitted with a shrug. "Wanted to make sure you were healing." She looked at him pointedly, nodding her chin towards his abdomen.

Derek looked at her with intense suspicion, his hand rising to absentmindedly rub his chest. "Why?"

"Because you're _literally_ the only other person in town that knows useful details about the alpha and wants to stop it. You're sketchy as hell, but I think we need to use all available resources."

Once more she was met by a wall of stubborn silence and suspicion. She rolled her eyes and lifted a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Look, I know you think my uncle is the alpha, but I _promise_ he's not." Dropping her hand, she placed it on her hip instead. "Your reasoning that he can hide his own scent would be sound if it wasn't for one thing."

"And what is that?"

" _I_ can't hide _my_ scent." There was a moment where she could practically see the gears turning in his head. She doubted she had changed anything in terms of appearing any more trustworthy, but she could at least sense a shift in his willingness to even hear her out. She decided to run with it. "I live with the man and you'd be able to tell immediately if I associated with an alpha."

Before he could say anything in response, she silently held out a silver key to him and he simply gazed down at it with furrowed brows. "It's a _key_. Not wolfsbane." She said shortly.

He dragged his gaze from the key to look at her with irritation, clearly not in the mood for her snide jokes. "What is it a key _to_?" He asked gruffly.

"To the clinic. If you need somewhere to stay. It's not the most comfortable place to be holed up but I imagine it's a lot less… _dilapidated_."

He raised an eyebrow at the use of such an uncommon word in casual conversation and she shrugged, "Never too early to study for the reading and comprehension portion of the SATs." She said with a cheeky grin. "Just be aware, the clinic's lined with rowan wood. Don't touch the front desk. There's a little gate that's a part of the desk, make sure that doesn't fall closed, it's what seals the circle around the clinic."

There was a moment where he just stared at her before sighing heavily and taking the key from her hand, acting as though the task had been nothing short of laborious.

The right corner of Annie's lips twitched upward in a half-smile as she reached into her sweatshirt pocket and proceeded to hold out her phone to him. "We should stay in touch. If I stumble across anything new, I'll let you know and I expect the same of you."

Exhaling sharply from his nostrils, Derek broke down without any more prompting. Taking the phone from her hand, he typed in his number before carelessly tossing the phone back to her. "Since when are _you_ the one to call the shots?" He asked, watching as she fumbled with the catch.

Shoving the device back into her pocket, she shot him a dirty look for the unnecessary throw. "Since Scott threw you under the bus to the local authorities and forced you to hide out in the woods." She retorted. "The kid's not gonna listen to much of what you have to say, so _please_ save us some drama and let me be a proxy."

He pursed his lips but seemed to accept the comment in some capacity. He gave her a single nod and she immediately considered it a win. She returned the nod, shoved her hands into her pocket and turned on her heel.

Annie had taken maybe five steps before she turned back around and called after Hale's retreating figure. "Also, I expect some kind of compensation for being pushed up against a Jeep and manhandled." She watched as he turned around, and while she couldn't see him in the low light, she could practically picture his exasperated and slightly vexed expression in her mind's eye. "I'll text you my link. Within the next couple of days, please. I'd love to get myself a new pair of shoes."

* * *

With a cloth bag filled with a myriad of colorful dog toys, Annie was preparing herself for one of the most questionable things she'd likely do in Beacon Hills:

Annoy the shit out of Scott McCall and call it _training_.

The technical explanation she had given her uncle was that she was _just simply going to observe and judge Scott's levels of control in order to gauge the best plan of action._

The explanation she gave Stiles was that she was just _gonna throw as many squeaky toys and treats at him and see how long it would take until he lost his shit._

With only two days until the full moon, Annie was all too aware of the fact that Scott would be extremely agitated and easy to trigger. But this was the only way she knew how to teach him. She had always been a "learn by doing" kind of girl and that seemed to just transfer into her teaching style as well. From what she had seen of his self-control she wasn't exactly _worried_ about her wellbeing.

Well, not more than _usual_ anyway.

But she had confidence that she wouldn't have to break out the wolfsbane on the kid. Not today, at least. She figured it would be best to show to Scott (and to herself, for that matter) how far he could go before completely breaking down and giving in to his instincts.

As the door to the McCall residence creaked open, she wasted no time in greeting him. " _Hey, buddy_!"

Scott blinked at her bright, high pitched exclamation.

"You ready for some Puppy Training?" She asked. His confusion immediately transitioned into plain displeasure as he realized what she was doing.

"You're hilarious." He said deadpanned, rolling his eyes and opening the door wider for her.

Annie grinned and reached both hands into the bag, pulling out a little squeaky ball and a brightly packaged bag of dog treats. "I got the organic stuff, don't worry." She wagged her eyebrows, squeezing the ball and watching as his eyes narrowed at her. "And if you're _really_ good, maybe I'll let you go on a walk _without_ the leash!"

Scott's jaw twitched in irritation, and Annie quickly shoved both items back into her bag and lifted her left hand to point at his face. "Ah, _there_ it is. _That's_ what we're gonna work on."

"What?" He asked, clearly already annoyed.

She pushed past him and turned as she walked so she could keep her gaze on him. "Controlling your temper." She answered simply with a shrug. She turned back around and began to walk up the stairs despite not knowing exactly where to go, figuring she'd probably be able to find a teenage boy's room rather easily.

Scott ran up after her, taking the steps two at a time and nearly shoving her against the banister as he tried to beat her up the steps. She let out a sound of indignation but he paid her no mind as he stopped and turned on the stairs to face her, "Where are you _going_?" He asked, effectively blocking her way up.

She rolled her eyes and lifted a finger to point behind him. "To your _room_ , there's not a body up there, right? 'Cause that's what you're acting like."

"You… You can't just come in here and act like you _own_ the place!"

"I'm sorry, I thought we could just use the privacy considering we're talking about things that pertain to a _secret world_?"

"I don't care!" He exclaimed, his brows furrowing as he glared at her. "Literally from the moment we met you've done nothing but talk down to me! You were going to let me go through all of this by myself-"

"And now I'm _not_."

"That's _not_ okay! You're not the only one who matters, Annie." He snapped.

He watched an emotion flash across her expression, but just as quickly as it came, it was gone. He half expected her to yell back at him, to tell him to shut up and just listen to her, but she simply inhaled and let her breath out on an audible sigh. "Okay…" She held her hands up placatingly, conceding to him. "Okay, you're right. I've been an asshole. Sorry." The apology _sounded_ genuine enough, but Scott stood there on the stairs for a moment, like he was sizing her up.

She raised her brows expectantly. "Where would _you_ like to do this?" She asked, offering the choice up like an olive branch.

He cleared his throat and looked sheepishly at her before turning and climbing up the rest of the steps. "My room is fine." He quickly turned, ignored her scoff, and climbed the rest of the stairs, leaving her to follow his lead.

As she crossed the threshold into his room, watching him as he flopped down onto his messily made bed, she promptly began her spiel. "So, I'm sure you know by now that your shifting is closely related to your emotions." She started, dropping her bag of things on the ground near the door.

"Yeah." Came the unhelpfully simple answer.

She rolled her eyes and pressed for more. " _Okay_ , so what have you done thus far to work with that?" She prompted, moving to stand in front of him with her arms crossed.

Scott sighed and sat up to look at her. "Well, Stiles tried to train me to keep my heart rate down. Threw some lacrosse balls at my face and got me jumped."

She couldn't hide the fact that she looked highly intrigued and didn't fix her face until she spotted Scott's offended expression. She had to give Stilinski credit, he hadn't mentioned that little stunt to her when she told him what she was going to do. It would have been good to know that Stiles had essentially done what she was planning on doing. Albeit, perhaps with a heavier hand than her own.

"Uh… and _how_ effective were those methods?"

"Well, we found out that Allison… Well, she helped keep me grounded."

 _The anchor theory_ … A look of pleasant surprise painted her expression. _Huh, so Stilinski really followed through._ But her slight moment of elation quickly melted away as his expression began to crumple and his shoulders slumped. "But now all I feel is _hurt_."

 _Oh no_.

She could handle Allison crying, but she wasn't sure she'd be able to handle McCall breaking down on her.

"Okay, um- it's alright." She said, her eyes widening. She raised her hands but didn't quite know where to put them, and after a few moments of letting them awkwardly hover over his shoulders, she dropped them once more by her sides. "It's good that you're feeling those things-"

She winced when his head snapped up. He looked at her as though he were saying ' _how could you say that?'_ and she quickly backtracked.

"I _mean_ , it's good to… uh, _feel_." She said, trying (and failing) to channel her inner Marin. "Keeping those emotions bottled up is only going to make your life harder come the full moon." He simply looked back down at his feet, her words clearly not making much of an impact on him. She didn't blame him, it wasn't like she was speaking with much conviction.

It was no wonder he wasn't listening to her. _She_ wouldn't listen to herself with the kind of uncertainty she spoke with just then. _You're such a fucking hypocrite, wow_.

Wait.

Maybe that was precisely what he needed… A hypocrite. She could already tell that coming in here and just trying to annoy him into shifting wasn't the best way to get him to learn control. Some people needed to just _do_ it. To learn by trial and error. What she was gleaning from Scott was that he would need a softer method of doing things. He felt, and he felt _deeply_. If she was going to _really_ help him, then she needed to get into _his_ mindset. Not force him into hers.

Annie sighed and moved to take a seat beside Scott on his bed. She looked down at her feet as she felt the uncomfortable silence begin to close in on them. It was like her uncle said, she couldn't be half-in and half-out on this. If she was going to help Scott get a handle on all of this, she needed to give her whole self into the effort as well. Just as Scott was taking a leap of faith to trust her to help him through this, she needed to jump with him.

"I'm not coping with the deaths of my parents well." She admitted in a whisper, crossing her arms. The soft confession made Scott's head snap up to look at her. He hadn't ever thought that Annie would willingly share something so personal with him, especially with how she seemed perpetually annoyed with him.

"It's my fault, I _know_ it is." He listened to her carefully, he wasn't sure if she was saying that their deaths were _her_ fault or if the bad way she was coping was her fault. But he said nothing and allowed her to continue. "I just don't know how to do anything else, but as much as I love denying it, I'm _not_ fine and I'm not doing much to deal with it. Not in a real healthy way, anyways." That was the first time she'd admitted to her real feelings willingly. It was the first time she'd uttered the words _I'm not fine_ and she felt dangerously close to just… _collapsing_. As though the admission had taken every ounce of energy in her body to utter aloud.

He watched as she seemed to hunch in on herself. She usually carried herself with the kind of energy that made him forget how small she was. But she _was_. She was like a little doll and watching her slump over like that, hugging herself as she spoke, it accentuated how unhealthy she appeared.

"Part of it is that I can't sort out my emotions… Or maybe I don't _want_ to. I dunno. It's easier not to. The anger. Frustration. The _anxiety_ , most of all… It's easier to just push it to the corners of my mind and forget about it all." She finally lifted her dark eyes to look at him and he was startled to find how irritated they looked. How close to _crying_ she was.

But her voice didn't waver as she pushed forward. "Now, were I a werewolf, this would be a recipe for a _lethal_ disaster." She said pointedly, looking him right in the eyes, and she could see the moment in which understanding wash over him.

"So… what do I do?" He asked softly, _desperately_.

Annie sniffed and suddenly stood up from the bed, shaking her hands out as though it would help her get out of the moment she'd been wrapped up in. "You gotta learn how to control your emotions. In whatever way you can find. You just gotta make sure they aren't controlling _you_."

"But Allison was the one who helped me stay in control, without her-"

She shook her head and interrupted him. "You'll need to think of someone else who can keep you grounded. Stiles. Your mom. I dunno, just someone who is just as important."

"This is just… a lot."

Her expression softened. "I know." She sympathized. "But, the more you _feel_ out of control, the more you _will_ be out of control. So let's work on making you _feel_ a little more secure, alright?"

He lifted his head and stared at her with those big, brown puppy dog eyes before giving a single nod, the anxiety on his face giving way to determination.

* * *

The bell rang, and Annie wordlessly collected her things before slinging the strap of her bag over her shoulder and following Lydia and Allison out. The halls were crowded and as they stepped into the mass of students passing by, Allison looked around, an expression akin to _awe_ stretching across her face.

"It's just _weird_. Everybody's talking about what happened the other night and nobody knows it was _us_." Allison whispered, keeping in step with Lydia and Annie as they walked down the hall.

" _Thank_ you, for the protection of minors." Lydia chimed in cheerily.

Allison didn't quite share the same attitude. She had been clearly preoccupied all day. "Do you guys think I made the wrong decision?" She asked, changing the subject as she looked to her friends with uncertainty. Annie couldn't help but sigh at the can of worms Allison decided to keep on opening.

Lydia was quick to jump in, though. "About that jacket with that dress? _Absolutely_."

Allison gave a humorless laugh and rolled her eyes. "You _know_ what I mean."

Lydia sighed and looked at Allison. " _Hello_? Scott locked us in a classroom and left us for dead." She said, repeating the words she had spoken to Annie when she had gone on her tirade.

And just as she had that night, Annie jumped to act as Scott's unexpected defender. "We have no idea what happened with Scott that night. The kid's _dumb_ , not evil. He probably thought he was trying to keep us safe." She said, keeping her tone casual as she lifted her right shoulder in a shrug.

Allison turned to look at her with worry in her eyes. "So, I made a mistake?"

"I… did not say that." Annie grimaced, readying herself to backtrack into a conversation she'd already had with both girls beside her.

Lydia could only roll her eyes, "Whatever. He's lucky we're not pressing charges… or making him pay our _therapy bills_."

"In other news…" Allison pressed, regretting that she brought up the topic in the first place and sounding eager to change the subject. "We have our first chem test of the semester, how're we all feeling?"

"Fine."

"It's a joke."

Came the two answers at the same time. Allison looked between the two girls on either side of her and rolled her eyes. "Of course, I forgot who I was talking to. _Miss Molotov Cocktail_ and _Miss Phosphorus Grenade_." She stopped in her tracks, went to bend over at the waist, and gave the two a low, dramatic bow.

Annie snorted and stretched out a hand to lightly drag Allison forward by the forearm, keeping them moving through the heavy traffic of the hallway as Lydia huffed and flipped her hair over her shoulder. " _Please_ , chemistry is just the application of formulas to analyze the composition and behavior of atoms."

"Oh _yeah_ , no _big deal_ or anything." Annie joked as the three walked into the room and took their usual seats. Annie had only just tossed her bag under her chair and pulled out a pencil when she spotted McCall sporting what could only be described as a crazed look in his eye. Which, considering what _tonight_ was, didn't exactly instill confidence in her.

The minute Scott walked into the classroom, he zeroed in on Allison who was sitting directly in front of her. Annie ducked her head slightly, trying to catch his gaze as she shook her head. There was something in his eyes, a cross between burning determination and a dangerous glint.

He completely ignored her as he approached Allison's desk. "Allison." His voice was soft and filled with pleading, but she stayed silent and averted her gaze, busying herself with closing her textbook and refusing to look directly at him.

"Mr. McCall." Harris's stern voice rang out clearly and he leaned in, placing his hand on Allison's desk and looking Scott straight in the eyes. "Please take a seat." He asked, leaving no room for argument.

Annie watched carefully as Scott set his jaw and remained in place for several tense moments. Allison kept her gaze down and Harris remained where he was, a physical barrier between Scott and Allison. Scott eventually heeded the chemistry teacher's request and walked away from Allison's desk, moving an aisle over and taking the empty seat beside Annie, keeping his eyes down and refusing to meet her gaze.

"You have forty-five minutes to complete the test," Harris announced. Annie gave Scott one last concerned look before sighing and turning to Harris. She picked up her pencil and accepted an exam packet from Allison's hands before passing the rest on behind her.

"Twenty-five percent of your grade can be earned right now simply by writing your name at the top of the exam."

Annie paused and looked up at him incredulously, silently mouthing _'twenty-five?_ ' Nevertheless, she took a moment to jot down her name on the line and wonder vaguely about how many people forgot to put their name on their test to warrant the teacher to incentivize with a free twenty-five percent. " _However_ , as happens every year, one of you will inexplicably fail to put down your name, and I'll be left yet again questioning my decision to ever become a teacher."

 _My guy, why_ are _you a teacher?_ She thought, rolling her eyes and shifting her gaze down to the test, poising herself to begin. " _So_ , let's get the disappointment over with." He lifted a stopwatch and looked at them all, completely unimpressed. "Begin."

The sounds of papers being flipped and pencils beginning to scratch filled the room and suddenly Annie felt like she was once more in her element. _This_ she knew how to deal with. Recall and concentration, she could do this.

Until she couldn't.

Annie's attention was drawn away to Allison shifting uncomfortably in front of her. The girl sat with her back straight and rolled her shoulders as she cleared her throat. Annie paused before hesitantly turning to look at Scott at her left, who was staring straight at Allison. His eyes were screwed shut, like he was in pain, his head tilting to and fro.

Annie frowned, her brows furrowing as she took in the way his head seemed to turn in every direction, his expression scrunching up into winces here and there. Biting her lip, she took her pencil and tapped it once against the edge of her desk, the sound resounding out sharp and loud - but not enough to rouse her peers who were deep in concentration to finish their tests. It _was_ enough to make Scott turn his head to glare at her, fierce irritation in his dark eyes.

He suddenly got up, the action causing his desk to scratch noisily against the linoleum floor. Everyone's heads snapped up as they watched him run out of the room, Mr. Harris's calling of his name filling the moment of silence. Stiles stood up and immediately ran out after the beta, ignoring Harris as he called _his_ name and Annie was left mentally groaning. Looking down at her exam, she realized her hands were sweaty and it had nothing to do with test anxiety.

Looking back up, she could see Allison staring out into the hall in concern. She had no business running after Scott, none that Allison knew about anyways, and she really couldn't come up with an excuse to use to explain why she abandoned her exam to check up on her friend's ex.

Swallowing hard, she returned her gaze to the exam and pushed through, hoping that everything she talked Scott through on Saturday would stay in his head and that Stiles could handle him. It seemed so pointless to return to a chemistry test when there was currently a werewolf having an absolute crisis somewhere in the school. Annie clenched her jaw and forced herself to focus.

It was twenty more minutes before she found herself at the front of the classroom, her test in one hand and bag in the other. Setting the materials down on Harris' desk, she ignored his skeptical expression and whispered, "Can I go to the library?"

"Any reason you can't stay here?" He shot back, with narrowed, suspicious eyes.

This man was testing her. She began tapping her foot impatiently as she stood, her grip on the shoulder strap of her bag tightening. "There's a chem workbook in there I wanted to check out. Equilibrium has been giving me a bit of an issue and I want to work it out before the next test."

Harris stared at her with cool, clear eyes before pursing his lips and writing out a pass. "The textbook we provide should give a sufficient enough explanation." His passive aggressiveness was impossible to miss.

It took everything she had not to roll her eyes right then and there. Those textbooks were also probably older than _her_.

"I'll be sure to reread the chapter _in the library_ , then." She said, plucking the pass from his outstretched hand.

She strode casually out of the classroom before turning to her left and stopping in the middle of the hall. A frown formed on her lips as she turned around and looked down the opposite side of the hall before whipping back around and staring down the empty expanse before her.

 _Where are you, McCall_?

She stalked forward, her senses on high alert as she walked down the halls, hoping to hear _something_ to tip her off about Scott's location. Just before she was about to walk past the entrance to the guy's locker room, the door flung open and out came the very subject of her investigation. "Oh! My _God_ , Scott-" He pushed past her and didn't look back. She twisted around and furrowed her brows as she stared at his retreating figure.

"He's uh, having a bit of a hard time." Stiles' sudden appearance beside her made her gasp. She lifted a hand to place on her chest as if the action would slow down her racing heart and she gave him a dirty look. He only gave a quick shrug as an apology before walking off in the direction of his locker.

Annie followed him, watching as he began switching his books out. She leaned against the lockers to his left. "Has Lassie given any thought about what he's gonna do with himself during tonight's festivities?" She asked, tilting her head. "I had wanted to plan it out with him earlier but we never got the chance."

"Well, I was gonna… I _dunno_ , tie him up in his room." Stiles said, shrugging as he leaned against the locker beside his own.

Annie nodded slowly, pressing her lips together, "It… _would_ be wise to lock him up tonight. He's already been upset lately, the full moon will only exacerbate what he feels."

She sighed, raising a hand to rub at her forehead. Stiles would _one hundred percent_ get himself killed if someone with experience wasn't there to help guide both him, and Scott, through it. "I'm coming over." She announced, with an air of finality warning Stiles not to argue with her, but the guy ignored her, pressing on to contest her anyways.

"Excuse me?" He asked incredulously. "You… You can't just _invite_ yourself."

"I think I just _did_." She replied. But she was reminded of what had happened at Scott's over the weekend. ' _That's not okay!_ ' He'd told her. But surely this would be a situation where an exception would be okay, right?

"What happened to you _aiding from a distance,_ huh?" He asked with narrowed eyes.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures." She shrugged. "And anyway, I've got experience with werewolves on full moons, _you_ do not. And if I'm not there I'm gonna end up feeling like I sent you blindly to your death. Telling you what to do and _showing_ you what to do are two very different things."

"Wow, you _do_ care!"

She shook her head. "More like I don't want to have to deal with your best friend _eating_ you. No passive by standing here." She said, as though she were correcting a point he'd made.

Stiles snorted, "You've been nothing _but_ a passive bystander up until now."

 _He's got you there, Emery_.

She narrowed her eyes "Meet me for lunch. We can discuss further." She said professionally before turning around and walking away, the sound of her heels clicking against the floors accompanying Stiles' loud _'Ha!_ _Gotcha, Emery!_ ' in the background.

* * *

Despite the flurry of activity all around her in the busy cafeteria, nothing quite matched the anxious energy that seemed to perpetually swirl around Stiles Stilinski. She looked up just in time to see him stumble to the seat across from her, " _So_ … What are you expecting for tonight?" His question was accentuated by the slamming down of his tray onto the table in front of her.

"Well, optimistically? No one gets mauled." She answered lightly with a lazy drawl, keeping her gaze on the open textbook in front of her as she absentmindedly peeled an orange to the side. "Realistically? We hold your funeral. Oh, also, what's your blood type? Just curious." She lifted her eyes to look at him with a mockingly sweet smile.

Stiles blinked before shaking his head. "Do you _try_ to be this unnerving or does it just come naturally to you?"

"I find that it's just part of my unique charm."

"It's a unique _something_."

Annie rolled her eyes and gave a lazy shrug as she popped an orange slice into her mouth. "But on a serious note, I need to know everything you've noticed about him today." She said, lifting a hand to hide her chewing mouth. "It'll give us insight into how he'll behave tonight."

Stiles shifted in discomfort under her serious gaze.

She huffed and swallowed, dropping the hand from her mouth, she used it to point at him. "You're not talking shit about him, Stiles. This could help save _our_ lives and protect his innocence in the eyes of the hunters. Most of them follow a code and don't hunt innocent werewolves."

Annie's new attitude towards him and Scott, while still seemingly generally annoyed, was _way_ more open than she had previously been.

It was throwing him off.

She still seemed hesitant to fully open up to them and that was primarily what made him nervous. She always acted like she had something to hide.

"How would they even know?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Eye color." She answered simply before launching into a more in-depth explanation. "A werewolf's eyes can be an indication of both rank and innocence. Gold is the standard color for betas and young wolves. Blue is a bit more touchy, it indicates that the wolf has taken the life of an innocent and red is, well you know…"

"Alpha status."

"Right." She tapped the side of her nose before popping another orange slice into her mouth.

A brief moment of not-silence passed over them, the sounds of the bustling cafeteria around them filling the air before Stiles spoke up once more. "So… you said you had experience with full moons, what'd you do then?" He asked curiously, cracking open a water bottle.

Annie pressed her lips together and shrugged. "We'd usually do what you have planned. Lock them up until they have a better grasp on controlling themselves."

"Wait, so we won't need to do this every month?" He asked with surprise. With _elation,_ really - there was hope in his voice.

Annie's expression softened and she shook her head. "Not at all. My goal is to have Scott at least be able to stay at home without being chained up during the next full moon. And then the month after that we'll try letting him out completely."

"You're _that_ confident that you can teach him control that fast?" He asked, clearly skeptical.

"Usually I wouldn't be, but there's something different about Scott." She shook her head like she still couldn't believe it. Her tone took on something like _wonder_. "That night of the first lacrosse game? When he lost control? I was running after him and Allison fully expecting to find her _mutilated_ and instead they were _making out_."

Leaning back into her seat, she crossed her arms. "He already has a measure of great control, it's just a matter of applying it when the moon has its strongest influence."

Stiles looked down and she could feel his knee bouncing, hitting the bottom of the table and making it move. "He seems almost… _depressed_." He admitted to her. "When he ran out of chem it sounded like he was having a panic attack and he said that he could feel everything in the room."

Annie nodded slowly along to his words and pushed her lunch tray away from her as she leaned in, listening intently. "I noticed that too… That he could feel everything in the room, I mean." She sighed and frowned. "As for his emotions, that's also typical. Everything he's feeling is just gonna be amplified to the max, so all his sadness about all that's happening with Allison probably isn't helping the matter."

Annie grimaced as she lifted a hand to rub her forehead. "That's something else we'll need to make sure he can control, though. He can't keep getting distracted by every little sound and smell around him." She muttered, making a mental note to herself.

He looked at her with hesitation for a moment, like he was trying to decide just how much he trusted her. Although, perhaps it was too late for all of that. They were in more of a dire situation that he would have ever cared to find himself in. If she was willing to help - even for just this once - then he wasn't going to complain. "Last night I tried to get his mind off of the break up so we uh, we went _out_. And we ran into trouble-"

"Naturally." She interjected.

" _Not the point_." He pressed with an irritated glance to her before continuing. "The _point_ is that he partially shifted and threatened the guys threatening _us_."

"When you say partially shifted, how much?" She asked, sitting up and leaning in closer to hear him as she dropped her voice.

"Claws came out. Eyes were all glow-y." He whispered back.

Stiles could tell that his report had concerned her by the way she sat up straighter in her seat. "So maybe our lessons on control didn't go as well as I thought they did. Did he get physical?"

"I mean, he didn't… _eat_ them." He offered in a weak show of optimism before slumping slightly. "But, uh, yeah. He smashed a bottle against a tree… like sixty feet away."

Annie pressed her lips together, her lips pulling down into a deep frown. "Is there a lacrosse practice today?"

"Yeah, right after school."

She grimaced, "And there's no chance you can convince him not to participate?"

"Not if I wanna keep my face uneaten." He scoffed.

She pursed her lips and nodded as she leaned back once more into her chair. "Okay, I think I'm gonna go home after school and get some more stuff that'll help us tonight. Think you can pick me up before heading to McCall's?"

He hesitated for a split second of a moment before nodding. He might have still harbored some suspicion towards the girl but there was no denying that ever since Annie had come clean about her knowledge of the supernatural that she had been extremely helpful. Not to mention, pushing all her abrasiveness aside, she seemed like she genuinely wanted to help Scott in the long term, and as his best friend, Stiles couldn't quite be mad about that.

"Do you think you can handle him during lacrosse?" She asked, concern shining in her eyes.

 _Could_ he?

Once again, Stiles hesitated before nodding. She looked at him, completely unconvinced before biting her lip in thought. Looking down at her bag, she sighed as she bent over to reach into it. She looked all around her, making sure no one was watching her before she pulled out a familiar silver canister.

"Can I trust you with this?" She asked, offering the can to him.

"Wh- is this that wolfsbane pepper spray thing you had here that night?" He asked, moving to hold it up before she reached over to slap his hand done with a hissed _"Be subtle, idiot_."

She retracted her hand and huffed. "Well, obviously not the same one, but yeah. Try and keep this on you during practice." She watched as he grabbed his bag and threw it in, wincing as the canister clanged against something in there.

He lifted his incredulous gaze to look at her and scoffed. " _Where_? It's not like we've got an issued fanny-pack that comes with the uniform."

"I _dunno…_ " She rolled her eyes. "Slip it into the waistband of your shorts, stick it up your ass, for all I care. Just have it easily accessible. If he looks like he's about to lose it, one quick spray in his general vicinity should be enough."

"Oh, my God. This is like some _Batman_ shit!" He grinned, reaching down into the little paper boat on his tray overflowing with tater tots, he popped several into his mouth and happily chewed as he stared back at Annie's unamused face.

"I swear to _God_ if you start wearing a cowl I'm taking back _everything_ I give you."

* * *

Annie sat on the steps of their front porch as she waited for Stiles to come by and pick her up for what was no doubt going to be an eventful night. She held a small, clear, puck-like jar in her hands. Holding it up to the light, she looked at the barely-light purple colored crystals that were piled into the container. She had only _just_ gotten back into experimenting with wolfsbane, feeling that after one of her mom's inventions aided in their survival during their night from hell, it would be more than wise to stock up on some more ways to protect herself (and whoever else was dragged into this mess) from the werewolves in town.

It wasn't long before the familiar blue jeep pulled up in front of her house and she bounded over, shoving her creation back into her bag. The minute Annie hoisted herself into the Jeep and laid eyes on the preoccupied looking Stiles, she knew something must've happened. "Eventful practice?" She asked dryly.

"He absolutely _pummeled_ Danny." He replied. His brows were furrowed and concern was written plainly on his face. He ran his hands over the wheel before shifting gears and pulling back into the road.

Annie paused putting on her seatbelt to turn and look at him with wide, alarmed eyes. "Is he okay?"

"Danny? Yeah, he got hit in the face pretty hard. Got a bloody nose and was kinda dazed. He had to sit out for the rest of the practice. But, Scott? I dunno about him, to be completely honest." He answered the concern was obvious in his voice.

"You didn't use the wolfsbane?"

"I barely had any time to react!" He said defensively.

"We'll work on that." She answered immediately while tossing a glance to the backseat. "What'd you bring?" She asked, dragging her gaze away from the large black duffle bag.

"Uh… chains, mostly. What's your haul?"

"I've got some more mountain ash, I'll line the room with it so he can't bust through the door. You've got the wolfsbane spray and I've been trying to develop kind of like… the opposite of smelling salts, made with wolfsbane. If I made everything right, it should knock him right out."

"So like, werewolf chloroform?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he spared her glance.

Annie let out a light scoff, "Uh… basically. Sure."

It was an uneventful drive over, but there was a palpable nervous energy that seemed to fill the car. She wasn't sure who was more nervous. On one hand, this was _Stiles'_ first direct full moon while she'd experienced countless more. But on the other hand, this was the first direct full moon she'd have to deal with since the night her life was turned upside down. She shut her eyes and let out a shaky exhale in an attempt to ground herself.

They rode in silence until they got to the McCall house and quickly prepared themselves for a long night ahead of them. Stiles pulled out his keys and slipped one into the front door. Annie watched with a raised brow. "You have a key to his house? That's cute."

"Listen, I practically live here. It made sense." He rolled his eyes at her as he pushed the door open and gestured for her to walk in, following her after and closing the door behind him.

" _Scott_?" Came an unfamiliar voice.

Stiles winced before calling back out to announce their presence. "Stiles! And uh- Company." He added, looking at her as though she'd been an afterthought. She simply gave him a dirty look before turning to the source of the voice, who'd quickly made her way to them. She was in her scrubs and looked like she was just on her way out. While Stiles looked as though he had no shame for bursting into the McCall home, she looked embarrassed enough for both of them. The dark-haired woman, who had the same deep and caring eyes as her son, looked at the two sophomores in surprise.

"Uh, it's nice to meet you, Mrs. McCall…" She reached out and gave Mrs. McCall's hand a quick squeeze. "Annie Emery." She introduced, seeing the flash of recognition pass over her features. Seemed like Scott had mentioned her after all. That or the woman had spoken to Alan before.

"Nice to meet you too, Annie." She smiled graciously before her expression changed completely as she turned to Stiles. Melissa looked down at Stiles' clenched fist, her attention zeroing in immediately to what he had in there. "Key!" She exclaimed in surprise, pointing at it.

Stiles nodded and gave a casual shrug. "Yeah. I had one made, so… " He trailed off with a shrug, ignoring Annie's look of slight alarm.

The look that passed over Mrs. McCall's expression was one of pure fatigue. With a sigh, she shook her head. "That doesn't surprise me. It scares me, but it doesn't surprise me."

He tossed the heavy duffle bag on the ground, making Annie wince at the obvious, loud, and metallic thud it made and shot him a dirty look. Did he _really_ have no concept of subtlety? He couldn't have waited until they were upstairs to put it down? Granted, it was probably pretty heavy, but _still_. Mrs. McCall looked down and lifted a hand half-heartedly to point at it. "What is that?" She asked, her fatigue mixing in with curiosity.

"Uh, school project." Stiles _brilliantly_ provided.

"Mmm." She hummed, clearly not buying it. Of course, Annie didn't quite blame her. But Melissa seemed all too used to the boys' weird antics because she moved passed it faster than Annie had anticipated. "Stiles, he's okay, right?" She asked, a frown on her lips.

" _Who_? Scott? Yeah. _Totally_!" He responded, a little too quickly and not too convincingly.

She looked down at the keyring in her hands, playing absentmindedly with the keys, "He just doesn't talk to me that much anymore, not like he used to." She admitted to them quietly.

Stiles shifted uncomfortably. "Well, he's had a bit of a rough week." He said gently.

Melissa looked up and nodded, "Yeah, yeah! I get it." It looked like she wanted to say more, but didn't quite know _what_ to say. Instead, she dropped the subject and Annie felt a wave of sympathy wash over her. She couldn't imagine how tough this was for Scott's mom. Yeah, it was rough for Scott himself to have to deal with all these dangerous changes, but for his mom to experience them _with_ him without knowing _why_ his behaviors were changing so drastically? It couldn't have been easy.

Mrs. McCall shook her head and moved forward, walking past the teens and placing her hand on the door. "Yeah, um… Okay, uh… you know, be careful tonight."

Annie tensed up, being taken off guard by the rather apt word of caution.

"You, too," Stiles replied, lifting his hands into two finger guns and casually pointing them at her.

"Full moon." She said casually, opening the front door.

It felt like Annie's heart stopped. " _What_?" The two of them asked in unison, the alarm clear in both their tone and their expressions.

"There's a full moon tonight." Mrs. McCall repeated, slowly and clearly, giving the teens a weird look for their reactions. "You should see how the ER gets, brings out all the nut jobs." She explained.

"Oh… Right." Stiles breathed out.

"Yeah… You know, it's um, actually where they came up with the word ' _lunatic_ '." She offered before giving her and Stiles a little smile and crossing the threshold out of the house, closing the door behind her.

Annie exhaled, " _God_ , that wasn't suspicious at all." She muttered, shaking her head. They'd need to work on their cover stories if they had any chance of protected Scott's secret.

Stiles bent down and picked up the duffle bag before walking up the steps, leading Annie up to Scott's room. She eyed the house key that was in his hand. "You had a key made for a house that's not your own? What happened to ' _I respect boundaries_ '?" She asked, bringing back his words from several days ago.

He simply gave a light snort in response. "It's _Scott_ , he doesn't count." He said, looking over his shoulder before turning the corner and opening the door to Scott's room.

"Oh, my god!" He exclaimed loudly, flinching and backing up into Annie, who swore in alarm and grabbed onto the back of his jacket instinctively like she was about to pull him back from danger, but she immediately let go with a low apology. "Sorry."

" _Dude_!" Stiles snapped. Annie peeked around his arm to see Scott sitting in a chair in the corner of his room, his gaze dead set and _empty_. "You scared the _hell_ out of me. Your mom said you weren't home yet." Stiles continued.

"I came in through the window," Scott answered, his voice was monotonous and measured.

Stiles shifted uncomfortably and took a step into the room. "Okay, _great_." He said, clearly uncertain about what was Scott's current deal. He bent down and zipped open his duffle bag before reaching in. "Well, uh, let's get this set up. I want you to see what I bought."

"I'm fine." His tone made Stiles stop in his actions and look up at his friend with his hands raised, a sign of good faith. Annie simply kept a steady gaze on the werewolf, taking in his apathetic expression and flat tone. As she made note of his manner, it felt as though her muscles were coiling up, ready to launch her into action at a moment's notice.

Scott opened his mouth to speak again, "I'm just gonna lock the door and go to bed early tonight." he said, his tone mechanical and practiced, like he had rehearsed in his head what he was going to say.

Stiles looked at him dubiously. "You _sure_ about that? 'Cause you've got this kind of… serial killer look going on in your eyes, and I'm hoping it's the full moon taking effect, 'cause it's really starting to freak me out." He said quietly. Annie glanced down at him, finally tearing her eyes away from the werewolf. It sounded like he was beginning to hesitate, he was unsure of how to deal with Scott's behavior.

Ugh, she should've paid attention to preparing Stiles for this too.

"I'm _fine_." Scott pressed, his teeth clenched. She returned her attention to him. "You should go now… Both of you." He turned his steely gaze up to her, meeting her own, but she didn't flinch back or shift her gaze away. Notching up an eyebrow in a challenge, she remained silent.

Stiles kept his hands up and tried again. "Well, look, would you just at least look in the bag and see what I bought? You know, maybe you use it, maybe you don't. Sound good?"

Scott slowly got up, approaching the two of them with the same disconcerting look in his eyes as she watched carefully, her body tense, her right hand settling on Stiles' shoulder, as though she were preparing herself to physically pull him out of the room. Her other hand slowly reached into the bag hanging at her side, so as to not draw Scott's attention. She clutched tightly at the little jar of her wolfsbane concoction.

As Stiles pulled out the metal chains, Scott's expression turned into something she had never thought she would see on him. He turned slowly to look at them. "You think I'm going to let you put these on? Chain me up like a _dog_?" he asked darkly.

"Actually, no," Stiles replied easily before springing into action.

She froze completely as she watched in panic at how fast Stiles moved. Expertly, he whipped out a pair of handcuffs, dragging the stunned werewolf over and cuffing him to the radiator.

" _What the hell are you doing_?"

"Protecting you from yourself..."

Annie took that as her cue to move. Letting go of the wolfsbane, she shifted her hand to the right, taking out a small vial of mountain ash. Uncorking it, she poured a thick layer onto the ground in front of the door, curving it so that it went from door frame to door frame but wouldn't be disturbed by the opening and closing of the door.

"...and giving you some payback…" Annie looked up curiously from her workings, only to find Scott looking up at Stiles with pure hate and Stiles looking down at him with anger and frustration. "...for making out with Lydia."

Annie nearly choked on her own spit and was unable to hold back the whispered, " _Holy shit_." that was drawn from her lips. She hadn't signed up for this. All she wanted to do was make sure no one got mauled tonight, but suddenly she found herself witnessing enough drama to warrant its own reality T.V. show.

 _God_ , Allison was going to be _pissed_ when she found out.

Wait, was _she_ supposed to tell Allison?

Should she talk to Lydia first?

Was this _any_ of her business?

She paused and looked up, staring at the sweating and feral-looking werewolf on the ground. In any other situation, she would have just watched the romantic trainwreck from afar, but she supposed because dog-boy couldn't control himself, that fell under her jurisdiction. Thus, it was her business.

Finishing up with the ash, she resisted the urge to groan at her misfortune. Well, she _did_ want to be a regular teenage girl, didn't she? Wasn't _this_ the type of shit she should deal with as a regular teenage girl?

She moved forwards and grabbed Stiles' shoulder. "C'mon, mind the ash." She warned before dropping her hand and turning on her heel.

It was palpably tense as they descended the stairs and made their way to Scott's kitchen. "You… uh, you good?" she asked awkwardly as they sat down across from one another.

To say that Stiles looked _pissed_ would be a gross understatement. "Yeah, perfectly happy that my _supposed_ best friend made out with the _literal_ love of my life."

She opened her mouth, wanting to tell him that it really _was_ the full moon affecting the young beta. As well as the fact that if Lydia made out with him then there was something for _her_ to gain out of it too. Lydia wasn't the type to go around kissing every boy she saw. She was much too pragmatic than that, plus the conversation she'd had with the redhead only days ago came to mind.

The girl was _clearly_ trying to get back at Jackson for his shitty behavior, but it was going to bite her in the ass.

But at seeing Stiles' ears tinged pink in anger, she shut her mouth, occupying herself with digging through her book bag and taking out several notebooks and a pen, setting herself up to study in awkward silence. He clearly didn't want to hear about it.

"How… how are you so calm right now?" He asked, staring at her incredulously.

She gave a loud scoff and shook her head, "I'm actually just as anxious as you, if not more. I'm just good at not emoting."

The last time she had been fully involved with a full moon had been the night she was attacked. And while Scott was young and she was sure he could be stopped if necessary, it didn't stop the irrational thoughts and every sort of gruesome scenario from passing through her mind.

"I grew up with werewolves." She answered quietly. He paused as he took out his books and looked up at her in surprise, not expecting her to open up in any way. In a way, she surprised herself. As much as she hated it, Stiles was now just as involved as _Scott_ was. It made sense to make moves to get along with him, especially if they'd be holed up together for the foreseeable future trying to prevent Scott from hurting himself or others.

"My parents… they were like, resources for the pack and so I was just… brought up in the insanity." She shrugged before giving a little smile. "Although, I dunno what's insane anymore, considering this is all so _normal_ for me."

She let a short pause fill the air as she thought about what to say to him. His question could have been taken as a casual observation of her behavior, but it was _more_ than that. He didn't ask for her advice but she could tell he was seeking _something_ reassuring about the situation he found himself thrust unexpectedly into. "It'll get easier, Stilinski, don't worry."

"Is this going to be _my_ normal now? Wolfsbane, full moons, freaking _werewolves_?"

She shrugged and looked at him seriously. "No one's making you stay." She grimaced the minute the words left her lips. "-and I promise I didn't mean for that to sound as bitchy as it did. I mean to say, it really is your choice. This kind of life takes a lot out of you." A bitter sort of smile stretched over her lips. "Sometimes literally." She gestured vaguely to her face.

Stiles gave a humorless laugh, spite clear in his eyes. "What else can I _do_ , though? He's my _best_ friend. My brother. If I were just… walk away, even when I _knew_ what was happening, what kind of person would that make me?"

She remained silent at his comment. It was a noble response and she could respect his sense of loyalty to Scott. "You're a good friend." She finally said after a moment. Holding up her pen to point at him, she narrowed her eyes, "But don't think I didn't pick up on that passive aggression."

"Hey, I just said some words. You're the one that took them personally." He gave her a flippant shrug. "I gotta be honest, though. Still kinda pissed you knew what was happening and didn't help."

He half-expected her to roll her eyes and shoot back a caustic defense, but instead, she only gave him a level look, "Look, I get it. I'm a shit person. That revelation has been stale for a while now." She said looking down, trying to ignore the guilty feeling bubbling in the pit of her stomach and grabbing her biology notebook, opening it up to a fresh page.

"It's just… weird. Scott and I were so ready to just tackle this on our own. And now we have…" He seemed to struggle with his next words making her raise a single eyebrow in expectation.

"Have…?" She prompted.

"Now we have someone who _kinda_ knows what they're doing."

Annie paused, keeping her gaze on her blank notebook page. "'Kinda knows what they're doing' might as well be my middle name at this point." She admitted with a half-smile, finally glancing up at him.

A short, albeit awkward, silence settled between them before Annie looked back at Stiles with a suggestion on her lips. "Uh, if you want… I really could, you know, teach you some things? Like I'm doing with Scott. I bet it'd be easier than trying to Google everything or calling me every time you have a quick question." She shrugged.

A wide grin grew at his lips, "Wow, are you- are you being _nice_?" Stiles asked mockingly, the smugness in his tone making her bristle.

Pursing her lips, she crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. "Nice is a strong word. Maybe I should go set fire to your favorite poster just to balance things out, I've got a reputation, ya know?" She said casually.

"Wow, that's- that's _really_ harsh."

She gave a light scoff. "Don't worry, _fanboy_ , I won't touch any of your _Star Wars_ ones. Unless you have one of _Phantom Menace_ 'cause then I think I have like, a civic obligation to get rid of it."

Stiles snorted and slouched in his seat as he shook his head at her. "It's still _so_ weird to hear you talk so casually about nerdy things like that… like, you have the kind of vibe that belongs to a six-foot-two bully that'd shove me into a locker."

Annie stared at him for a moment before pressing her lips together, clearly trying not to laugh. "Okay, one-" she put up her index finger and pointed at him. "-make no mistake, I might not be six-foot-two, but I could _definitely_ still shove you into a locker." Lifting another finger, she pressed on. "Two, my dad was a certified nerd, you literally couldn't shut him up about this kind of shit. I just absorbed it all." She said with a little reminiscent smile on her lips.

Lifting a third finger, she finished. "And _three_ , you'd have to be living under a _literal_ rock not to know anything about _Star Wars_ , the franchise is like, embedded into our collective DNA at this point."

"Wolf boy upstairs has no clue about it." He immediately countered.

Annie blinked and leaned back in her chair. "That- wow, alright…" She looked stunned at the revelation before her brows furrowed. "Wait, how is he friends with _you_ and-?"

"Believe me, I ask myself the same thing almost every day. I'm considering leaving the relationship." He sighed sadly.

"I'd fully support you in that decision." She gave him a full, toothy grin, and it nearly stunned him when he realized he hadn't seen her smile that fully before. Of course, he had seen her smile before, but it had always been a bit subdued.

She had a _nice_ smile.

It was wide and toothy, which was the main distinction between her subtle, forced smile and the genuine one he was seeing right now. She had slight dimples just at the corners of her mouth. But her scar had him wondering what she'd look like with a full smile. It pulled at the left edge of her mouth, making her grin look crooked as she tried to smile around it, but it _suited_ her in a way. Not completely perfect, but still uniquely _her_.

Oh, it was gone… what happened?

"-inski?" He caught the last half of his surname before realizing he had just been staring at her face without saying anything for a little longer than was acceptable. Her smile was gone and replaced by furrowed brows and clear confusion.

"Wait, what?" He asked.

"You good?" She repeated, giving him an odd look.

"Yeah, I'm good." He quickly recovered with a nod.

She stared at him for a moment longer and then rolled her eyes. "You know, if it were up to me, I would try to prevent anyone from getting into this mess of a life." She returned to the conversation they had been having, her voice once again becoming soft as she kept her gaze down at her notebook, her fingers playing absentmindedly with her pen. "It's kinda cool and there are parts of it I wouldn't wanna give up, like, _ever…_ but… it's a _lot_ sometimes."

" _Would_ you ever give it all up? You know, if you had the choice?" He asked, curiosity practically palpable in his voice.

It took her a couple of moments to think about it. She looked down at her hands, folding them on the table in front of her. Her gaze drifted higher to stare at the long, thin scars poking out from where she had rolled up her sleeves to her elbows.

"I tried to." She admitted. "That's why I was just… _lurkin_ ' around for so long. I _didn't_ wanna get involved. Moving to Beacon Hills was supposed to be me living a completely new life. Trying to forget what happened and all that… But-" She sighed, lifting her eyes back up to look at Stiles. "This kind of shit _drags_ you back in. Once you're in, you're in. That's why I said no one's making you stay. No one would blame you if you tried to walk away from this."

It was Stiles' turn to look down as he took in and contemplated her words. "I think I understand what you mean about this shit dragging you in… I mean… I can't just up and leave Scott. I _can't_." His brows were furrowed as he stared at his hands, his lips pressing together as the weight of the situation began to weigh down on him.

Annie gave him a sympathetic smile, a hint of bitterness displayed in her expression. Reaching out, she tapped the table in front of him and lifted her finger to point at her eyes, causing his eyes to naturally follow it until he made eye contact with her. "I know." She said simply.

They were simple two words but the understanding conveyed behind them was enough for some of the tension in his shoulders to lift. Stiles may have still been largely suspicious of the girl sitting in front of him, but at that moment they were connected by the rare bond that came with trying to wrangle a feral wolf-boy handcuffed to a radiator.

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LMAO HEY MY GUYS leave a sick comment for year-later updates! also like... i love u all and thank you so so much for all of you who reviewed even when it was bleak and an update wasn't in sight. i promise i'm gonna do way better, but in the meantime here's an almost 20k word shit show for u, hope u liked it!


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